Detoxify by Sweating—Real or Hoax?

Yoga is practiced in a variety of ways and places.  Yoga practiced in an environment that is heated to higher temperatures (like the Tapas Room at Yoga V) has the added effect of generating increased body heat and sweating.

But is this added effect beneficial?  If so, in what way?

The main purpose of sweating is to cool the body.  Sweat is primarily composed of water with sodium and chloride present in different amounts.  As the sweat evaporates on the skin, there is a cooling effect to the skin and the body.

However, sweating has long been perceived to promote health beyond just simply to keep the body cool.  Worldwide traditions and customs include Roman baths, aboriginal and Native American sweat lodges, Scandinavian saunas and Turkish baths.

What does science tell us?

The evidence is still not clear. There are strong opinions on both side of the detox argument based on several studies. A few small studies have shown that there are many different toxins found in sweat. These toxins include pesticides (DDT), solvents, phthalate (a plasticizer found in many plastic products), and heavy metals, including cadmium, nickel, aluminum, mercury and uranium. In addition, Bisphenol A (BPA), a cancer-causing toxin found in canned foods and plastic water bottles has been found in sweat samples.

Those who question the detoxifying effect of sweating argue that these studies have problems with the way the sweat was collected, number of study participants, or that the amount of toxins excreted in sweat are so small as to have little effect on health.

Here is my take.

ANY elimination of toxic chemicals or heavy metals from the body should be beneficial to our health. Many chronic diseases are likely, as least partially, the result of accumulation of toxins in our bodies which can disrupt DNA sequences (cause cancer) or activate an autoimmune reaction triggering a long list of possible illnesses.  Although the amounts of these toxins in our sweat is small, the amount of toxin is directly related to the amount we sweat.  Sweat a lot—detox a lot!

Greg Reicks, D.O.
Family Physician