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Hematologist-oncologist Khushali Jhaveri discusses her article “What the research really says about infrared saunas.” Khushali shares her personal journey from skepticism to advocacy after experiencing the profound physiological shifts of infrared heat therapy. The conversation dives into the science of heat shock proteins, explaining how thermal stress helps the body repair cellular damage and manage inflammation. She reviews a landmark study from Finland showing massive reductions in cardiovascular mortality among frequent sauna users. Khushali also distinguishes between traditional and infrared saunas, noting that while the latter operate at lower temperatures, they offer similar benefits through passive heat exposure. Discover how this ancient practice might be a key to healthier aging and longevity.
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Transcript
Kevin Pho: Hi, and welcome to the show. Subscribe at KevinMD.com/podcast. Today we welcome Khushali Jhaveri, a hematology-oncology physician. Today’s KevinMD article is “What the research really says about infrared saunas.” Khushali, welcome to the show.
Khushali Jhaveri: Thank you, Kevin. Thanks for having me.
Kevin Pho: All right, so let’s start by briefly sharing your story and then what led you to write this article on KevinMD.
Khushali Jhaveri: As you mentioned, I am a hematologist-oncologist. I work as a lymphoma expert at Indiana University. I treat a wide spectrum of B-cell lymphomas and my research focus is on body composition. Specifically, I look at how muscle mass and sarcopenia, that is loss of muscle mass, impact outcomes for B-cell lymphomas.
In terms of medical journalism, when I was in fellowship, I had the privilege of working at ABC News. That is where I learned how to translate really complex scientific information into a language that a broad audience could understand. I helped translate noteworthy research for platforms like Good Morning America and multiple shows on ABC News. That really drove my passion for medical journalism. What I realized during that time was that when it comes to high-quality science reaching the public, there isn’t much physician voice out there. That led me to continue writing. I have written for your platform, Medscape, and more recently, I have been working as an associate editor for the American Society of Hematology’s magazine, which is called ASH Clinical News.
Kevin Pho: Wonderful. I think that is more important than ever, especially with all the misinformation that is currently going on and the fact that health care has become so politicized. So congratulations on doing what you do. We need more physicians going into media.
Khushali Jhaveri: That is wonderful. You are exactly right. With the KevinMD article, one of the things that has consistently stood out for me is how little physician voice there is between high-quality science reaching the public. What I have noticed is there is often a big gap between what is marketed and what data actually shows.
For me, saunas, and more so infrared saunas, kept popping up on my Instagram feed over and over again with really confident health claims. I was definitely intrigued, but I was also skeptical. One day out of curiosity, I wanted to experience it myself. I drove to an infrared sauna studio. What stood out was not just the entire experience, but the breadth of health claims that were being made. The claims ranged from detoxification to calorie loss of almost as much as 400 calories per session, to enhanced recovery and improved sleep.
The KevinMD article came out of that process when I wanted to dig deeper into the research. My goal was to bring a physician’s lens to a topic that a lot of people were already engaging in and to bridge that enthusiasm with evidence in a more accessible way.
Kevin Pho: All right. So before we talk about some of that evidence, just tell us what exactly an infrared sauna is. I see advertisements sometimes like you do, but for those who aren’t familiar with it, just tell us exactly what that is.
Khushali Jhaveri: An infrared sauna basically is based on the principle of passive heat exposure. One of the recurring themes that keeps popping up when you read about infrared saunas is the concept of heat shock proteins. These heat shock proteins are proteins which are produced by our body in response to stress, including elevated temperatures, and their role is essentially cellular housekeeping.
When we expose ourselves to passive heat exposure like in an infrared sauna, our body produces these proteins. These proteins help other proteins fold correctly, preventing cells from experiencing stress and assisting in repair. So what happens over time is that our body gets better at handling stress. With sauna use, you produce these proteins and over time you learn how to manage inflammation better. There is enhanced cellular recovery, and the integrity of cells is maintained better over time. Emerging research is also showing that it might actually help with enhancing longevity.
Kevin Pho: All right, so after looking into the data, you talked about a study that looked at some of these claims. What does the evidence say about the claims of these infrared saunas?
Khushali Jhaveri: I think that really surprised me. I was a skeptic before going into it, but once I really looked at the data, I found it very compelling to actually engage with a sauna myself. One of the studies that really stood out was a study which was published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
In the study, Finnish researchers followed around 2,300 middle-aged men for over 20 years. What they found was that men who engaged in sauna use two to three times per week compared to men who engaged in sauna use just once a week saw a significant improvement in cardiovascular outcomes. They saw almost a 22 percent decrease in sudden cardiac death, a 23 percent decrease in coronary heart disease mortality, and a 27 percent decrease in overall cardiovascular outcomes.
With even increased use, men who were using the sauna four to seven times a week had even more substantial benefits, including an almost 40 percent reduction of death from any cause. Not just the frequency of sauna use, but the duration of sauna use also mattered. Men who used it for more than 19 minutes had much more significant health benefits compared to those that were using it for less than 11 minutes.
One thing I think is important to know is that most of these health claims come from Finnish sauna use rather than infrared sauna use. Infrared saunas might have overlapping physiologic pathways, but they involve mild thermal stress. We can extrapolate from the data, but direct outcomes data about infrared saunas is still limited.
Kevin Pho: What are some of the downsides of going to the sauna? What are some of the side effects? Did the studies show any risks to those using these infrared saunas?
Khushali Jhaveri: It is not a one-size-fits-all intervention. Before engaging in any wellness trend, personalizing your risk and benefit is very important and talking to a physician is necessary. For example, if someone already has cardiovascular disease, I think for them it might be risky. Someone who is pregnant might find it risky too.
If you have dehydration, you are going to lose a lot of electrolytes and water during a sauna session, so it might cause dizziness. It is really important to keep yourself hydrated, make sure your electrolytes are OK, and also talk to your physician about your personal, individual risk versus benefit.
Kevin Pho: Now, what is the potential mechanism where these infrared saunas can decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease and improve outcomes? Is it the fact that these heat shock proteins help with inflammation? Do the papers speculate on a potential mechanism?
Khushali Jhaveri: I think it is mainly about the heat shock proteins. We have to remember that these are association studies. The researchers did follow these men over 20 years, so that is a prospective component to it. But at the end of the day, these are association studies, so it is really hard to pinpoint the exact mechanism as to why people are benefiting. It is thought to be more so from heat shock proteins and your body’s ability to handle stress and inflammation better.
Kevin Pho: So these are more observational studies. These weren’t double-blind, randomized controlled studies.
Khushali Jhaveri: No, they were not.
Kevin Pho: So you mentioned that you are familiar with these infrared saunas. Who would be the best type of patients who may benefit from these?
Khushali Jhaveri: I would say anyone who is healthy overall should be able to benefit from an infrared sauna. The data is pretty compelling. At the end of the day, as I mentioned, these are observational studies and so it is hard to prove cause and effect. But based on what data I have seen, I think anyone who is able to engage in infrared sauna use would benefit from it as long as they don’t have other comorbidities that might contraindicate it or have more risks associated with it than benefits.
Kevin Pho: And how much does a session cost typically, and is it ever covered by insurance?
Khushali Jhaveri: I don’t think it would be covered by insurance, but most of the sauna studios are HSA eligible, so you can definitely use it as a health cost. I think the sessions usually are around 20 to 30 dollars per session for a one-hour session. I think it becomes even cheaper if you engage in some type of membership.
Kevin Pho: And how many sessions would you need in order to see a potential benefit according to the studies?
Khushali Jhaveri: According to the studies, even doing it once a week is going to have some benefit. But higher frequency and your ability to tolerate longer sessions over time is where the highest benefit exists.
Kevin Pho: And you mentioned a difference between the infrared saunas that we have here and the Finnish saunas that were in the study. What are the differences between the two?
Khushali Jhaveri: The Finnish saunas operate at much higher temperatures and it is more of a direct heat exposure rather than a passive heat exposure, which is what we see with an infrared sauna. I think what is more nuanced with the infrared sauna is that a lot of people are able to tolerate it better because the temperature is just not as high. But as I mentioned, it works along the same physiologic pathway of passive heat exposure, increasing your core body temperature, and producing those heat shock proteins.
Kevin Pho: We have talked about how a lot of the data is observational, meaning that we can’t conclude that there is a causation, but just a correlation. Are you aware of any prospective double-blind trials that really would pin down a potential causation for infrared saunas? What are the future research directions? Are you aware of any work that is going into that?
Khushali Jhaveri: Kevin, I will be honest, I haven’t come across any prospective randomized control studies in relation to especially infrared saunas and also Finnish saunas.
Kevin Pho: In terms of what we have to look forward to regarding the technology, could Finnish-style saunas be more prevalent in the United States? What do we have to look forward to in the future when it comes to these infrared saunas?
Khushali Jhaveri: This is my personal opinion, but I do believe that infrared saunas are just much easier to tolerate for an individual. When we are looking at benefits over time and increased frequency, I wonder if using Finnish saunas or direct heat exposure with much higher temperatures would be possible for a regular person to do five, six, or seven sessions a week.
Kevin Pho: We are talking to Khushali Jhaveri, a hematology-oncology physician. Today’s KevinMD article is “What the research really says about infrared saunas.” Khushali, let’s end with some take-home messages that you want to leave with the KevinMD audience.
Khushali Jhaveri: I would say our patients are going to engage in these wellness trends whether we talk about it or not. During my training, I realized that a lot of these wellness trends and lifestyle topics in general are not covered in medical school or formal training. But it is very much a part of our patients’ lived experience.
So I believe that when patients bring up this conversation, we should be willing to engage in those conversations. It is not to just endorse everything, but to be able to look at the data, explain uncertainty, and engage in an honest risk versus benefit conversation. When curiosity meets data, I think that is where trust happens, and that is where good medicine is. As for infrared saunas or just sauna use in general, as our knowledge about these passive thermal therapies continues to increase, I do believe that it might have a meaningful role in enhancing cellular integrity and even possibly longevity.
Kevin Pho: Thank you so much for sharing your perspective and insight. Thanks again for coming on the show.
Khushali Jhaveri: Thank you so much, Kevin. It was an honor and a pleasure to speak with you today. Thank you.
