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Sweating Removes Toxins From Everyday Products
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Many people are predisposed to thinking of sweating as a bad thing. After all, it stinks, it makes your clothes stick to you, and it is often associated with dehydration. But sweating is a natural reaction of your body that can actually be very healthy in more ways than you know. In addition to helping prevent overheating, it can allow harmful toxic compounds to escape from your body. New research is showing that many of these toxins can accumulate over the course of your life, and appear to come from products you may be using all the time.
What Happens When We Sweat?
The human body has around 5 million sweat glands. The purpose of sweating is to cool down the body and prevent overheating and associated conditions like heat stroke. For ancient humans living in very hot climates like the African savannah, the advantage of this evolutionary trait cannot be overstated.
Sweating, also called perspiration, is controlled by the automatic nervous system, meaning it is a physiological reaction that just happens automatically. You cannot “will” yourself to sweat or not sweat. There are actually two kinds of sweating. The first is perspiration brought on by heat, vigorous physical activity or both, that will occur all over the body. Sweating which is caused by anxiety or stress will only occur in the armpits, head, or the hands. This is where phrases like “sweaty palms” come from.
The sweat itself is a watery liquid containing sodium, lipids (fats), and proteins, as well as trace amounts of toxins. These toxins accumulate in the body over time, which is the purpose of our discussion here.
Sweating is mostly beneficial, but in excess it can cause dehydration. That’s why it is important to drink plenty of fluids, preferably water, if you are hot and sweating a lot.
Perspiration as a Detoxification Mechanism
There is some misguided, New-Agey perceptions that all you need to “purify” your body of toxins is to sit a sweat lodge. It’s a little more complicated than that.
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