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The spa secret that prevents menopause-related weight gain
I feel fortunate to have a small gym in my apartment building. But I sometimes think about joining a larger gym nearby for one reason: it has a sauna.
Spending time in a sauna does more than help you relax, soothe sore muscles and improve circulation. The practice has been associated with all kinds of health benefits. In fact, regularly spending time in the sauna can slash your risk of specific health conditions including:
- High blood pressure
- Heart disease
- Dementia
- Respiratory disease
- Stroke
And recent research has uncovered another reason to add sauna time to our list of daily health habits — especially for post-menopausal women…
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Sauna to burn fat, increase insulin sensitivity
The study involved removing the ovaries of older female mice to model post-menopausal conditions. The mice were also fed a Western diet (which mirrors what most Americans eat) that contained 45 percent calories from fat.
The mice were then divided into two groups: one that received 30 minutes of daily heat therapy in a chamber set to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for 12 weeks and one that received no heat treatment.
The mice receiving the heat treatment had significantly reduced lactate dehydrogenase levels, which indicates less aging-related tissue damage — that’s a win, but there’s more…
What was really surprising was that the heat therapy also effectively countered the weight gain induced by the high-fat diet the mice were fed.
The mice also showed improvements in insulin sensitivity and insulin signaling, as well as reduced adipose fat accumulation in areas such as the liver and in brown fat.
While adipose fat stores energy and hangs around on the body, brown fat is metabolically active and helps the body burn more energy. Previous studies have shown that people tend to lose brown fat as they age and women do as well when entering menopause. That contributes to a slower metabolism.
In short, the study appears to demonstrate that spending time in a sauna each day might help older adults, especially women, fight age-related obesity and insulin resistance. This could help ward off metabolic disease, which often leads to type 2 diabetes.
“Compared to men, women have a higher likelihood of being obese or overweight,” says research team leader Dr. Soonkyu Chung, PhD, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. “This is especially true after menopause, due to the loss of estrogen in the body.”
“Heat therapy could be a practical option for those with increased abdominal fat and a higher risk of metabolic diseases triggered by menopausal hormonal changes,” adds Rong Fan, a doctoral candidate advised by Chung. “It could be easily integrated into routine healthcare practices through regular sessions in saunas, heated baths or with specialized heat wraps.”
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Triggering the body to beat menopause weight gain
The researchers dug deep into the mechanisms involved and found that heat triggers several molecular processes that help the body use energy more efficiently and burn fat. They identified a key player, TRPV1, that when activated by heat triggers a process known as futile calcium cycling where the body uses energy to pump calcium ions across cell membranes. This process helps raise the amount of energy burned by the body.
Those actions also stimulate the body to break down and burn fats, reducing fat accumulation in tissues like the liver. In addition, it helps improve the body’s insulin sensitivity, which is critical for overall metabolic health.
The researchers caution that more research is needed to determine how long and intense the heat exposure needs to be in people to trigger the health benefits. They also need to confirm its safety and effectiveness across diverse populations.
For now, if you’re a woman in post-menopause and you want to kick your fat-burning metabolism into gear, give a daily sauna a try. If you don’t have a sauna at home, you can probably find one at a nearby spa, gym, health club or even the YMCA.
One caveat: make sure you sauna safely. Don’t use a sauna if you have unstable angina, chest pain or recently had a heart attack. And older people with low blood pressure should be cautious as well, since using a sauna can be risky for them. It’s always a good idea to speak with your doctor before engaging in a regular sauna practice.
Editor’s note: Are you feeling unusually tired? You may think this is normal aging, but the problem could be your master hormone. When it’s not working, your risk of age-related diseases skyrockets. To reset what many call “the trigger for all disease” and live better, longer, click here to discover The Insulin Factor: How to Repair Your Body’s Master Controller and Conquer Chronic Disease!
Source:
Daily sauna time might help prevent menopause-related weight gain — EurekAlert!
By Carolyn Gretton
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