When many of us think of sweating, we immediately jump to its most easily observable traits: body odor, stains on your shirts and that sticky feeling it creates.

    There are a plethora of products out there to help reduce this, namely in the forms of deodorants. The manufacturers of these products seem to think that if we apply a thin paste to our armpits, we’re good to go and the world will never know we sweat again (despite the fact that we sweat from considerably more skin surface area than simply the folds beneath our shoulders.)

    However, sweating is one of the best things that can happen to us. When we sweat, our body is simply trying to regulate our own temperature. The things that create sweat–exercise and heat–are typically good for us. Particularly exercise, where sweat is often seen as a trophy, the visible reward for our efforts, whether they be an hour at the gym or just another day on the job.

    Beyond just speckling activewear models in the glistening allure of how their product will sculpt your body, sweat holds a profusion of actual health benefits that go beyond the exercise which typically creates it.

    Sweating can open and unclog your pores.

    Sweat needs to get out of your body somehow, and that’s where your pores come in. When you sweat, your pores open up and the sweat–basically water with traces of salts, sugars and broken down proteins–effectively flushes the buildup within your pores away.

    While extreme sweating can promote certain conditions, like eczema, in general a good healthy sweat will help reduce your average pimples and blemishes.

    Sweating equates to detoxification

    From cholesterol to salt to alcohol, when you sweat, your body excretes these substances. One study showed that, between urine, blood and sweat, it was actually sweat that contained the most secreted toxins. Though the levels of toxicity in our body are often determined via blood or urine tests–for example, when you have to take a drug test for work–this study indicates that sweat is the primary way we excrete toxins and provides a more accurate measure of what exactly is in our system.

    Sweating lowers your risk of developing kidney stones

    Akin to unclogging your pores and the general process of flushing our bodies, sweating allows us to pass away contaminants that cause kidney stones while retaining more calcium in our bodies at the same time.

    Sweating fights viruses, bacteria and fungi

    From the common cold to tuberculosis germs, sweating can fight off dangerous pathogens. Dermicidin, a protein in your body that serves as an anti-microbial peptide, is part of our built-in immune system.

    Unlike antibiotics, germs in our bodies aren’t able to adapt to them quickly enough to develop a resistance. Basically, your sweat contains compounds that attract the bad stuff, get inside of it, and break it down.

    Sweating can make you feel better

    Endorphins are a chemical within our bodies that can have a variety of effects, from reducing pain to giving us energy to making us feel more relaxed. When you experience an abundance of endorphins, you “feel good.” Physical exercise, and the sweat that follows, encourage your body to release more endorphins.

    Sweat makes your skin glow

    Not only useful for clearing out your pores, sweating actually saturates your skin, increasing blood flow. This allows oxygen and nutrients to nourish your cells by circulating throughout your body.

    While glowing skin may not exactly be a benefit to your health in and of itself, it is certainly something most of us enjoy.

    Infrared Saunas and Sweating

    While getting plenty of exercise every day should be a part of everyone’s routine, not everyone has the drive to head to the gym every day. Not everyone is physically able to workout, for example people with chronic heart and lung problems or those suffering from arthritis. An alternative means of getting your body to sweat is by using an infrared sauna. Unlike traditional saunas, which heat up a room by creating heat by burning wood or electric, infrared saunas use one spectrum of light just outside of what we can see to create heat within our bodies.

    This leads to sweat, and all of its benefits. Whether you use an infrared sauna as a supplement for physical exercise or as a way to increase the number of calories you burn while relaxing after your workout, we’d love for you to book a session at the Nutrifarmacy, where we have Pittsburgh’s only full-spectrum infrared sauna!

    Try one session out for only $30, or buy multiple sessions and save up to $140!

    You have Successfully Subscribed!