Self Care

What are the advantages of sweat?

Do you break a sweat every single day? Do you find it incredibly unappealing,  annoying, and inconvenient? Don’t be in a hurry to blame your body for the sweaty underarms and clothes drenched in perspiration. This sticky, smelly sweat can do a lot for your body. It  naturally restores balance to stay healthy.

What exactly is sweat?

Your brain is in charge of maintaining your body temperature. Your system functions best at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. But heavy physical activity, fever, and menopause can raise your body temperature. Hot and humid weather and fearful or embarrassing situations also can give you hot flashes. Your brain then signals the hypothalamus, to produce sweat. The tiny sweat glands on your skin then start working and release clear salty liquid. Sweat glands are found in large numbers in your armpits, feet, and palms. You have almost 2 to 4 million sweat glands in your skin. Most of them become fully active by puberty.

Generally, men tend to sweat more than women. Sweating cools down your body temperature and safeguards you from heart attacks and strokes. A large portion of sweat is water. It’s mixed with ammonia, urea, salt, and sugar. Sweat on its own is odorless. But when it gets mixed with the bacteria on your skin it turns smelly. But you don’t have to worry about it, regular bathing with soap or using deodorants or antiperspirants can help. If you sweat too much it might indicate low blood sugar and thyroid disorders. That is called hyperhidrosis. Too little sweat or anhidrosis can also be dangerous. It is usually because of dehydration, skin disorders, or burns.

Advantages of sweat

• What Exactly Is Sweat
• Natural Cleanser Of Bacteria
• Lose Weight
• Excrete Heavy Metals
• Flushes Out Phthalates
• Get Rid Of Bpa Too
• Radiant Glow
• Natural Mood Lifter
• Faster Muscle Recovery
• Cardiovascular Disease
• Long-standing Acne
• Prevent Kidney Stones

Sweating is a natural cleanser of bacteria

According to a scientific report, human sweat contains natural antibiotics. It also contains proteins and antibodies that can kill a wide range of bacteria. Common microbes like E. coli, and yeast are found even in the healthiest people’s bodies. They can turn against you in no time when they get help from other unwanted bacteria externally .But sweat can combat these bacteria and keep them under control. It then avoids everything from minor infections to deadly diseases like pneumonia, meningitis, bone infections, and heart problems. This simply means your sweat actually starts battling the bacteria way before you grab a bacterial ointment or an antibiotic pill.

Glistening in sweat can help you lose weight.

Before this sparks controversy let me clear up that sweating just helps you to get rid of excess water weight. Sweating does not always mean you are losing fat. The calories your sweat glands spend in producing sweat are minimal. While going in for a sauna your body will just get rid of excess water. But on the other hand, if you are getting soaked in layers of sweat after a cardio workout then it would mean your body is losing fat as well. This is the reason why fitness models might opt for a quick sauna session before a photoshoot just to look extra ripped.

Sweat droplets can excrete heavy metals

Sweating is one of the easiest ways to remove toxins circulating in your blood. Pollutants and synthetic chemicals can sneak into your system in the most discreet ways. They can enter through the air you breathe, the food you eat, or even through drinking water. Heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury are majorly released from cigarettes, industrial emissions, some fish, and faulty dental fillings. They negatively affect your brain health, kidneys, and heart. Most heavy metals have cancer-causing potential. A few of them might already be circulating in your body. Medical research says there is 10 times more arsenic, 25 times more cadmium, and 300 times more lead in your sweat than blood. So sweating seems to be a simple solution to optimize your health and eliminate stored chemicals!

Sweat also flushes out phthalates

Ever heard of this sciency word? These are chemicals added to plastic to increase its flexibility, transparency, durability, and longevity. Phthalates are mostly present in plastic cutlery, kid’s toys, cookware, perfumes, cosmetics, paints, and nail polishes. All of these products have become an essential part of our daily lives that we hardly give a thought to them. But these harmful chemicals can cause asthma, breast cancer, type 2 diabetes, neurodevelopmental issues in children, autism, and even infertility. A Canadian study found twice the amount of phthalates in sweat and urine when compared to the amount in the blood. So if you want to eliminate toxins quickly, start sweating out more.

Gets rid of BPA

Bisphenol A or BPA for short is an equally life-threatening chemical. It has integrated so closely with our lives that it practically becomes impossible to get rid of it. It’s a part of water pipes, water bottles, and food containers. This resin has an estrogenic property that can cause sexual dysfunction, premature puberty, pregnancy loss, obesity, high blood pressure, and other cardiovascular diseases. The same Canadian study that bio-monitored harmful chemicals found sweat to be the quickest way to excrete stored BPA.

Sweat gives your skin a radiant glow

Want a natural dewy look? Ditch your makeup. Sweat can give you a stunning glow and make you confident in the long run. Sweating was also an ancient secret for glowing skin. The Roman baths, Aboriginal sweat lodges, Scandinavian saunas, and Turkish baths were some therapeutic ways of sweating. Nowadays infrared saunas are trending on social media. They penetrate deeper layers of the skin and promote sweating. When the dead cells, pollutants, and clogged makeup is flushed out from your skin by sweat it will automatically improve your skin complexion and texture. Sweating also boosts skin circulation giving you a natural blush.

Sweating is a natural mood lifter

Do you feel relaxed after a killer workout? That is because of endorphins. Your body produces these happy hormones and instantly puts you in a great mood. Prolonged physical activity, lifting weights, yoga, and Zumba are other group activities that can light up your day. You can also count your steps or indulge in a dance workout to help you break a sweat. Studies show working out can actually increase the level of sweat and indirectly improve self-esteem and a sense of well-being. So embrace the sweating during those workouts and get ready to feel great afterward.

Faster muscle recovery

Just sweat it out. Sweating is super important if you are aiming for muscle growth. It has the power to heal the body without having to depend on magic potions or energy drinks. No matter how strong and efficient you are at lifting weights, recovery of your muscle is a key process to staying fit. Your muscles naturally build a lot of lactic acid when they are put to work. Sweating helps to improve lymphatic circulation and throws out the lactic acid from your muscles. With less lactic acid circulating in your system, your muscle soreness will reduce and speed up your recovery. This way sweating prepares you to push even harder the next day at the gym.

Prepare your heart to fight any cardiovascular disease.

This doesn’t mean you have to go hard in the gym. Even having a relaxing time in a sauna can do the trick. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. One person dies every 36 seconds due to cardiovascular disease. According to a recent study, men who used saunas to sweat were less likely to develop high blood pressure. The hot box increases the temperature of your body and promotes more blood flow and fluid movement. Researchers found a drop in the blood pressure by 46% in people who took sauna sessions 7 times a week and by 24% in participants who used sauna baths 2 to 3 times a week.

Get rid of long-standing acne

Let’s first understand how exactly pimples get formed. Your skin is porous in nature. This arrangement helps your skin to breathe. It excretes bacteria and dirt. But when the pores get clogged up with oil and dead cells, products get collected inside the pores causing pimples. An intense workout can make you sweat profusely, eliminate all the bacteria and give you a beautiful blemish-free face. It’s important to practice good hygiene after a workout as sweating can make your skin go the opposite direction too. Wearing sweat-soaked clothes for a long time or avoiding a quick wash allows more bacterial debris to lodge on your skin. And instead of getting spotless skin, it can cause flare-ups.

Prevent kidney stones in the future

But keep watching for the catch. If you have underestimated the power of sweating till now this piece of information might change your mind. A kidney stone is a hard accumulation of chemicals, minerals, and acids found in urine. About half a million people get hospitalized due to kidney stones every year. It can cause severe lower back pain, nausea, vomiting, cloudy, blood-streaked, and smelly urine. Hot yoga and saunas can increase sweating. This reduces the urine output and promotes clumping of minerals in your kidneys and urinary tract. If this condition persists it may cause kidney stones. But sweating puts your body in a state of dehydration. It will tell your brain to drink water. Don’t ignore it and rehydrate yourself. It can make you visit the bathroom more frequently but eventually, it will flush out oxalates, uric acid, and cystines that form kidney stones.