Weight Loss And Detoxification Through Sweating
Sweating is a natural function of your body. Although we mainly associate sweating with temperature control, due to elevated core body temperatures, it also has a few other useful benefits which we will focus on throughout this post.
Sweat, or perspiration, is primarily water with tiny amounts of chemicals such as ammonia, urea, salts, sugar, and others. When your internal temperature rises, your sweat glands release moisture to the surface of your skin. As this evaporates, it cools your skin and your flowing blood beneath it. This cooled blood gets pumped to your internal organs in order to lower their temperature. This is how your body naturally cools itself.
Cool Fact: Why does sweat smell?
In fact, pure sweat doesn’t smell. The body odor associated with perspiration is actually a result of skin bacteria breaking down the acids in sweat. Additional smells may come from compounds in food you’ve eaten or from hormone secretion from areas such as your armpits.
Sweat Suits For Weight Loss
I got my first pair of Sauna Pants from BVVU recently and wanted to share my experience and thoughts. More on that in a moment, but first a look at why these sweat suits are so popular.
If you have not heard of them before, a sauna suit – sauna jackets, pants, waist trainers, and sauna vests – are designed to retain your body heat and thus increase your perspiration while working out. The idea of such wearable technology is to help you increase sweat output, thus increasing “weight loss and detoxification”. Although…. there is no real clinical research to back up these claims.
Can Sweating Help You Detoxify?
In reality, your kidneys and liver are your body’s best detoxifiers. Sweating only releases traces of toxins. However, some research has demonstrated effective chemical elimination due to sweating. A 2016 study in China indicated that the levels of most heavy metals were lower in those people who exercised regularly. Heavy metals were found in the sweat and urine, and perhaps shockingly, with a higher concentration in sweat. The conclusion is that along with urinating, sweating is a potential method for the elimination of heavy metals from the body.
BPA Elimination
BPA, or bisphenol A, is an industrial chemical used in the manufacturing of certain resins and plastics. Exposure to this chemical may lead to a number of serious effects on health. These include reproductive disorders, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, asthma, and several forms of cancer.
According to a 2011 study, sweat is an effective removal route for BPA’s.
PCB Elimination
PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, are highly toxic industrial compounds that pose serious health risks to developing fetuses. Further, in adults, they are shown to increase rates of melanomas, liver cancer, gall bladder cancer, biliary tract cancer, gastrointestinal tract cancer, and brain cancer, and may be linked to breast cancer.
A 2013 article in ISRN Toxicology indicated that sweat could have a role in eliminating certain PCB’s from the body.
Other Benefits Of sweating
Sweat is good for your skin. The main ingredient of sweat -water- hydrates the skin. The minerals and salts in perspiration naturally scrub and exfoliate. In addition, urea and uric acid combat dry skin and dermatitis. Although some people may think of sweating as “dirty”, it actually purges the skin of bacteria, dirt, oils and impurities. And even further: the optimal pH factor for the skin is the same as the pH factor of sweat.
Another benefit of increasing your perspiration is bacterial cleansing. A 2015 review suggest that the glycoproteins in sweat bind to bacteria, helping faster removal from the body.
Does Sweating Burn Fat?
While sweating doesn’t burn fat, the internal cooling process is a sign that you are burning calories. Fat burning is a metabolic process. When you exercise, your body breaks down carbohydrates and fats in order to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is your body’s energy currency. This process tends to raise your core body temperature which, in turn, signals to your brain that it’s time to sweat. Therefore, sweating is your natural cooling process that regulates your body’s core temperature.
I must add: Unless supervised, weight loss during periods of heavy perspiration is primarily due to fluid loss. These should be replenished as you sweat, via water and/or electrolyte beverages.
Note: If you want to maximize your fat burn, then focus on your level of intensity rather than your level of sweatiness.
Try this high intensity full body workout
My Results
You can’t deny that sweating is a good feeling. I love it, from both a physiological and psychological point of view. I always like to promote mental tricks and stimulations that ultimately make us feel good and keep us motivated to stick to our training program. So when it comes to this particular type of suit, I would agree that it was an effective sweat aid that helped me shed off extra water weight that I tend to gain here and there as a result of fluctuations in my diet, my menstrual cycle or god knows what.
As for the Sauna pants I got; I tried these pants on both my strength training days and my lighter cardio and sprint days, and I experienced almost double the amount of sweat that I am used to.
Losing Weight Quickly
To rapidly lose weight, people often use a combination of equipment, environment and techniques. For example, this could include sauna suits, vigorous exercise, hot environments and calorie reduction… or a combination of several of these. However, if not closely monitored or supervised by a professional, these techniques can possibly have a negative effect on cardiovascular function, renal function, hydration, electrolyte balance, muscle strength, muscle endurance and body composition, as well as other severe health risks. So proceed with the right amount of attention and caution, and consult with your coach or qualified trainer first before taking such extreme measures. Weight loss should be achieved steadily over time. Any short term results may have unintended, negative impact on the body as well as on your long term goals.
For those of you who are on that journey, I recommend you do your reading and research. Take the time to set a wholistic plan that can be achieved gradually. Of course, include short term wins (mental tricks and stimulations) that keep you motivated and bring you closer to your master goal. But don’t sacrifice long-term health just to make quick gains.
I’d love to hear your thoughts and questions on this topic, so leave your comments below. And feel free to reach out to me directly for personal one-on-one consultations or training.
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