For most of us, sweating is an inconvenience. You’re drenched, your clothes are full of unattractive sweat marks, and when you get the misfortune of accidentally tasting your sweat…yeah, it’s bad.
But despite all of this, sweating is more often than not a healthy thing, especially for its detoxing capacities.
If you follow the wellness industry, then you probably heard that “sweat does not eliminate toxins, it’s a myth”.
Well not exactly. Let’s dive into the world of perspiration (sounds bad, I know…but it’s worth it) and tackle all the myths out there.
How Does Sweat Work
Before everything, sweat is a temperature control mechanism. You release water (and minerals) to cool yourself off.
Of course, sweating happens in the face of heat. The most common sweating conditions are a hot day, sitting in a sauna, and exercising.
Whether the heat comes internally (when exercising) or externally (sauna, infrared lights)…the dermis glands release the water that then evaporates and results in cooler skin.
With that being said, in addition to temperature control, it has been proven that sweat aids in detoxing the body. If not directly, then indirectly.
Other reasons you might sweat include emotions, foods, and following medications. For us, the most relevant is through heat.
The Power Of Sweat For A Healthier Body
Before we dive into whether sweat helps detox or not, we must understand what sweat does for the body.
Sweating can benefit the body by:
- Regulating your body temperature as we discussed
- Make your skin glow by producing antimicrobials that combat bacteria on the skin
- Increase blood flow by dilating the blood vessels
- Help with your mind by improving mood, boosting sleep, and higher energy levels
Although sweat is your body’s way to regulate itself, it can become dangerous.
Hyperhidrosis and Hypohidrosis are dangers that come from sweat. Hyperhidrosis, which is excessive sweating, is more of a social problem where it can become embarrassing.
Hypohidrosis is the lack of sweat. It’s when your body can’t cool itself off enough, resulting in heat cramps, heatstrokes, and exhaustion.
The Best Way To Sweat
As we know, detox is the ability to dish out toxins from the body, and there are many ways one could detox.
Now, regarding sweating and its detoxing abilities…why do people say it’s a myth?
That’s because most toxic wastes get eliminated through urine, where there a far more toxic waste dished out there compared to sweat. In perspiration, the toxins eliminated are minimal, too little to be considered…
But sweating can eliminate more than toxic wastes…sometimes even metals and dangerous chemicals.
A study published by the National Library of Medicine proved that sweat certainly helps eliminate dangerous waste in the body, under one condition:
When perspiration results from physical activity, there are significantly higher traces of nickel, lead, copper, arsenic, and mercury in sweat from exercise than in any other form like the sauna.
And anyone who knows the human body knows heavy metal can be toxic for you.
But to claim that sweating does not detox the body simply cannot be true…
Moreover, there is sufficient evidence that claims that BPA (a chemical found in plastic), perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are industrial materials and organisms, can be released through 3 means, and one of them is sweat.
BPA, PFCs, and PCBs are all toxic for the body and are linked to various health problems as well…
Can It Really Detox Your Body?
After examining the medical research done on sweating and its detoxing abilities, it is hard to ignore its power.
However, if someone is still not convinced, there is another way that sweating could detox your body, just a little bit less direct.
Related reading: Four Simple Daily Detox Tips to Keep your Body Clean and Toxin Free
Let me explain.
The powerhouses of detoxing in your body are your kidneys and liver. The vast majority of detoxing happens through them. And they work well when an individual is hydrated and drinks regularly.
Sweating (the loss of water and electrolytes) can influence your body to detox by telling it that it needs to hydrate, and hydration is an amazing detox influencer.
It’s building a healthy cycle within your body to put it in the best conditions possible to rid itself of toxins and heavy metal.
Watch out for the imbalances…step 1 is sweating for dehydration, don’t forget step 2 which is to hydrate. Dehydration (failure to drink the required amount of water) results in weak kidney functions and is extremely dangerous.
Related reading: How Much Water Sould You Drink in Summer to Stay Hydrated?
Conclusion
The science is constantly evolving, and every year new studies contradict everything we know about sweating and its detoxing abilities.
But if we could trust one thing, it’s that perspiration is healthy for you in most cases, and even more when you are exercising, as the NCBI study revealed.
And what to take from all of this: Try to sweat more. Either by exercising to eliminate those metals or by sitting in the sauna (which aids in losing calories and feeling better).
You are doing your body a favor by sweating, always remember that.
Author Bio: Rayen Monzer is a soccer player and passionate health writer who aims to inspire people to live their best lives physically, mentally, and spiritually. He is the owner of Ray’s Lifestyle Field, a blog about improving one’s health through physical exercise and activities.
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8998800/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3776372/
Exercising image by Andrea Piacquadio
