Infrared and Metabolism
Far infrared rays (FIR) are part of the spectrum of frequencies/colors found in sunlight. It is a safe form of energy that heats objects by a process called direct light conversion. All warm-blooded animals emit far infrared/radiant heat, a beneficial and essential form of energy that has the ability to penetrate, refract, radiate and reflect. FIR is natural and often quite beneficial for helping people lose weight. One of the main ways infrared heat positively affects weight loss is via the ability to raise the metabolic rate.
Metabolism = Converting Carbs to Energy
At its most basic, metabolism can be defined as the body’s cellular chemical processes which take the food and drink you ingest and use them to produce energy necessary to sustain life. Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) equals the amount of energy needed to properly maintain the body’s circulation, respiration, cellular repair and other processes while in a resting state.
A sluggish metabolism prevents the body from being efficient at converting calories to energy and consequently those calories are stored as fat. There are several causative factors involved, including hypothyroidism, gender, age, weight and activity level.
The Effect of Infrared on Metabolism
Immersive infrared (IR) therapies, such as that provided by the FIT Bodywrap®, can provide numerous benefits relative to metabolism.
For one, it can raise your basal metabolism; the rate at which you burn calories when resting. Infrared immersive therapies such as FIT Bodywrap® work by exerting stress on the body in the form of heat; the body responds with attempts to cool off by releasing sweat. Such immersive IR exposures increase heart rate, cardiac output and metabolic rate, burning more calories, leading to more weight loss.
Cellular Metabolic Rate
On a cellular level, FIR speeds the metabolic rates of cells by stimulating mitochondria and enzyme activity. ATP is the energy molecule of the living organism that transports chemical energy within cells for metabolism. Erythrocytes stimulate the release of ATP when they arrive in a region of tissue where oxygen need is high, such as an exercising muscle. Thus, the increased blood flow helps organs and cells to receive more oxygen from which to make more ATP, improving your metabolism.
Detoxification Raises Metabolism
Most of the toxins in the human body are stored in fatty tissue cells. Through detoxification using an immersive infrared system like FIT Bodywrap®, heavy metal toxins are removed from the body via sweating. This can rebalance not only your metabolism, but also your digestive processes. Detoxification helps to purge organic acids and has a positive effect on your fasting insulin levels, which should drop as your body no longer stores carbs as fat. Instead, those carbs and fats are converted to energy.
At the same time, ridding the body of toxins increases blood flow to the capillaries as well as strengthening the immune system. The heartbeat is one of the principle metabolic processes. In the process of the body striving to cool itself it is evident that the heart’s rate increases. This rate increase provides an indirect measurement of the increase in the rate of metabolic processes induced.
Try immersive infrared therapy such as that provided by FIT Bodywrap®. You may just find you can finally lose those extra pounds due to an increased metabolic rate.