Your sweat is NOT detoxifying

There is a reason why you feel incredibly amazing after working up some serious sweat. You feel your heart pumping and your muscles warm up. Sweat is an absolutely normal bodily function, which helps in cooling down the body after a strenuous physical workout.
A lot of people believe that sweating can get rid of the toxins built-up in the body. In fact, there is a common perception that perspiration releases waste products or clear toxic substances. If you too believe that sweating helps in getting rid of the toxic build-up in the body, you might be in for a shock. Sorry to burst your bubble but sweating isn’t really a good way to detox your body.

The study

According to new findings published in the journal Environment International, the number of pollutants released through sweat is actually very tiny. The primary reason behind the same is that sweat is primarily made up of water and minerals and contains very little amount of toxic substances.

When you compare the pollutants excreted by our skin (via sweat), it is minuscule in comparison to the toxins flushed out by kidneys and liver. Most of the toxicants are fat-soluble and hence, do not dissolve in sweat, which is 99 per cent water.

What does this mean?

According to a study, if you are working out for a minimum of 45 minutes per day, your body might release anywhere around 1-2 litres of sweat. However, the amount of toxins in that sweat is not even 1/10th of a nanogram. So basically, even if you push yourself to the extremes, sweating won’t even release 1 per cent of toxins you intake daily.

A word of warning

From spas to sauna, the beauty and health care industry seems to be heavily relying on the concept of detoxifying through the releasing of sweat. While there is no denying that hot baths and saunas can be relaxing and even rejuvenating, it is strongly advisable to proceed with caution.

Always drink ample amount of water after sweating it out to avoid getting dehydrated and do not take the sweat therapy too far. One such case of extreme-sweating resulted in the death of a 35-year-old woman. This Quebec woman was plastered in mud, wrapped in plastic sheet and had her head covered with cardboard boxes for nine hours for extreme detoxification. She died from extreme overheating hours later.