SWEATY SATURDAY- Benefits of Sweating!

Hey Friends!

YAY for the weekend!!! I just got back from a very challenging (in a good way) softball practice, and as much as I hate feeling like an old lady with minor aches and pains from using muscles that have been asleep since college, I LOVE the feeling of being sweaty after a good workout! I know not everyone shares in my joy of getting sticky and smelly, so I wanted to give you a brief rundown on some of the AMAZING health benefits of sweating! I think you might appreciate your armpits a little more after this article… 😉

Why Do We Sweat?

Sweating is the body’s natural cooling system. As the body begins to overheat from exercise or fever, a liquid made mostly of water, some salt, and waste, is secreted through the sweat glands onto the skin’s surface. As the liquid begins to evaporate it cools the body. There are two types of sweat glands: eccrine sweat glands and apocrine sweat glands. Eccrine glands are distributed over the entire body. They are particularly concentrated on the palms, soles of feet, and on the forehead. Apocrine sweat glands are located on the scalp, armpits and the genital area, and produce sweat containing fatty materials. When we sweat, we release many toxic substances. Some of these impurities are an accumulation of things like sodium, heavy metals, cholesterol, alcohol, and nicotine, These are actually carcinogens and cause damage to your body at the cellular level, which means with time and accumulation of these toxins, the chances increase for you to develop disease.

FUN FACT:

Did you know that getting a fever when you get sick as actually a sign of a strong immune system? Get This! You’re body knows EXACTLY what temperature is needed to take care of pesky viruses or germs. When we take something like Tylenol that forces the body to stop doing what it was created to do, it is potentially very dangerous because your body can no longer do it’s job. A much safer and more effective treatment for a high fever would be homeopathic Belladonna. That’s a great one to keep in your medicine cabinet!

Some of the proven benefits of sweating…

Sweating is your body’s natural way of providing a high-tech cooling system
Skin is considered the largest organ in or on the body and it’s vital to take care of it
In conjunction with proper washing, sweat can produce soft & supple texture of the skin
Improves tone & flexibility of skin
Critical factor in the body’s hydration process
Essential in the process of removing toxins from the liver, kidneys & the cardiovascular system
Is the body’s natural process of cleansing & washing skin pores
Serves as one of the body’s many indicators
On a small scale can burn calories in conjunction with traditional training
Improves circulation
Helps boost the body’s immune system
Triggers your body to work harder to compensate & adjust

But…What if I’m Smelly???

Did you know that body odor actually comes mostly from your gut? By changing your diet to healthy choices and healing your intestinal lining, you can dramatically improve your body odor! I teach all of my clients to make their own probiotic foods & drinks to get maximum benefit for nearly pennies!

Dangers…

The BIGGEST danger when it comes to the topic of sweat is actually your antiperspirant deodorant! Maybe you’ve read an article or heard someone tell you that your deodorant could cause breast cancer or other problems. Unfortunately these facts are true. Deodorant can be very dangerous and absolutely promote breast cancer. Here are some great resources where you can learn from- CLICK HERE.

A great step you could take today is to get rid of any antiperspirant deodorant with aluminum and switch to a natural alternative. My FAVORITE one is from the brand LAVANILA. It is in my Amazon Store and is also available at Sephora.

Top Choices to Get Your Sweat On:

1. Exercise

Getting a good sweat on while exercising proves that you’re getting your heart some great exercise, pumping your muscles, and releasing those happy endorphins. If your goal is to lose weight, removing toxins through sweating is very beneficial and will help in your weight loss goals.

2. Sauna

There are many studies proving the various health benefits of sitting in a sauna until you break a sweat. Here is some interesting research by The University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Rehydrate

Of course if you are doing some high quality sweating, you definitely need to rehydrate, so make sure you’re drinking plenty of pure water and getting your minerals in! Adding just a pinch of Himalayan salt to your water will give it a boost of minerals. Raw coconut water is also a great option! I wouldn’t recommend large amounts of the coconut water in cartons because it is pasteurized, removing basically all of the nutrients, and leaving high amounts of sugar. Definitely avoid sports drinks that are filled with artificial colorings, sugar, and sometimes artificial sweeteners.

There is your brief overview on Sweaty Saturday of why it’s so important to get your sweat on. So, get at it today and have a blast!!

xoxo,