Chances are, you're not used to thinking of sweat as a good thing. Most of us associate it with embarrassing stains, uncomfortably hot temperatures, and embarrassing social situations. If you have a physically strenuous job or like to exercise, you may have a slightly more positive perspective on sweat. It helps regulate your body temperature, and it's a sign of an effective workout, right?
Most of us don't know much about this essential bodily function beyond that, and although temperature regulation is certainly important, your sweat actually does so much more for your health than prevent you from overheating.
- What Exactly is Sweat?
Sweat consists of a mixture of water and chemicals commonly found in your body. These chemicals may include ammonia, sugar, salt, or urea.
We think of sweat as smelly, but sweat itself doesn't actually have an odor. The scent of sweat is created by the bacteria and hormones that live on the surface of your skin. Although sweat glands are found on the entirety of your body, they are especially notable on areas such as the hands and feet, armpits, and face.
- How Sweat Loss Can Benefit Your Health
The most well-known and important function of sweat, as mentioned previously, is to control body temperature. It's also good for your skin and removing toxins from your body!
One study from 2015 found evidence suggesting that the glycoproteins in sweat could bind itself to bacteria. This would assist in removing bacteria from the body. Another 2016 study found that people who regularly exercised and sweated more frequently had lower concentrations of heavy metals in their bloodstream, and yet another study from 2011 indicated that sweat is an effective removal route for BPAs and could be used for BPA bio-monitoring.
You may have heard before that microplastic molecules are being found in rainfall and even our own blood, and that's exactly what BPA, or bisphenol A, is: an industrial chemical used in the manufacturing of plastics and resins.
On top of that, a good sweat can give your skin a healthy glow and reduces water weight and bloating. The psychological benefits are that when we look our best, we often feel our best, and sweating helps us accomplish this.
- Different Ways You Can Work Up a Sweat
Emotional stress and eating spicy foods can cause us to sweat, but the healthiest way is through moderate to intensive exercise. You can get your heart pounding and your sweat flowing by through cardio and lifting weights, or you can combine the two with infrared workouts.
Infrared technology is new to the fitness scene, and combines classical workout structures with sauna-like environments. This may seem like an odd combination, but it's actually quite effective in quickly boosting your heart rate and working up a good sweat in a fraction of the time as a regular workout!
Health should be one of our first priorities, and sweat is essential to our health.
