Far Infrared Rays have nothing to do with either ultraviolet radiation (which gives you sunburn and damages your skin) or atomic radiation (the kind from a nuclear bomb.)
Far Infrared Radiation is simply a form of energy that heats objects directly through a process called conversion, without having to heat the air in between. Our sun is the principal source of radiant energy that we enjoy daily (some more so than others). Far Infrared energy is a part of the natural light spectrum of sunlight minus the skin damaging UV; the part that is invisible to the human eye.

Different types of light interact with our body differently. In general, the shorter the wavelength of a light, the more harmful it is to living cells. Light, like ultraviolet, is very harmful to living cells. The most beneficial lights are those whose wavelengths are near the red light. Far Infrared Therapy or FIR therapy uses far infrared light which is part of the Sunlight spectrum whose wavelength falls just below (infra means below) the visible red light.

The complete spectrum of sunlight consists of visible and invisible rays. The visible rays are red, orange, yellow, green, indigo, blue, and violet in color. The invisible rays are Ultra Violet, X-rays, Gamma, Cosmic, Microwave, Long Wave, Electrical Wave and Infrared.

Electromagnetic waves between visible light and the microwave are called infrared waves. The wavelength of infrared waves range from 0.76 micron to 1,000 microns; this range is further subdivided into the ranges of Near, Medium, and Far-Infrared Rays with following wavelength: 0.76 to 1.5microns; 1.5 to 4 microns; and 4 to 1,000 microns respectively.

Far Infrared Rays are thermal. In other words, we experience this type of infrared radiation every day in the form of heat. Unlike ultraviolet light, FIR is harmless to the body.

As stated, Far Infrared energy is simply a safe part of the spectrum of light emanating from the sun. It is not visible to the eye, but you feel it as heat penetrating into your skin. You may be familiar with the infrared heat lamps sometimes used in bathrooms. Far infrared produces heat in a similar fashion, but is much more efficient because it matches your body own emissions and penetrates even deeper into the skin.

Far Infrared light and its therapeutic properties have been studied in China and Japan for over twenty years and is now beginning to become very popular in the west. Far-Infrared Heat Therapy improves most physical conditions because its effects are nearly universally positive. Studies have shown over 100 benefits such as improved blood circulation, restored youthfulness, toxin and heavy metal reduction, weight control, cellulite reduction, skin cleansing and rejuvenation.

Today we're seeing new technologies employing Far Infrared energy in health care products and in clinical protocols such as hyperthermic therapies for detoxification and cancer treatment.

The Far-Infrared energy devices, that The Wolfe Clinic recommends, use the same far-infrared heat therapy technology used in sports medicine to treat athletic injuries and in hospitals to keep newborn infants warm. Health professionals have used red infrared heat lamps for decades to treat muscle and joint problems. In hospital baby care units, incubators are often equipped with infrared heating systems to keep new-born babies warm.