Hate to Sweat? 10 Scary Things Will Happen When You Don’t!

Sweat, often associated with a hot and sticky image, might seem harmful to our bodies. However, normal sweat produced by bodily activities helps expel waste from our bodies and has several health benefits. Instead of viewing sweat as dirty, why not look at the advantages it brings us during the summer when it’s impossible to avoid?

Sweat Helps Expel Chemical Compounds from Our Bodies

 Sweat aids in the expulsion of chemical compounds from our bodies. Toxic chemical compounds accumulated in our bodies, such as Bisphenol A (a primary ingredient in plastics) and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (used in paints), are expelled with sweat. Bisphenol A is a substance that raises blood pressure and negatively affects the brain. At the same time, Polychlorinated Biphenyls are a type of organic compound that can cause growth delays and neurological disorders.

Sweating Reduces Heavy Metal Concentration

 

Sweating through physical activities can reduce the concentration of heavy metals like mercury, lead, and cadmium in your body. Research has found that expelled heavy metals can be detected in urine and sweat. If urine output remains constant, continually sweating through exercise can enhance detoxification effects.

Bacteria Elimination

The glycoprotein contained in sweat has the property of combining with skin bacteria. If you wash well after sweating, sweat acts as an antibacterial soap. While leaving your body damp with sweat can cause body odor, expulsing harmful components from the body improves blood circulation and lymph flow. This can help alleviate symptoms like headaches, fatigue, and shoulder pain and improve your mood.

Sweat is Essential for Maintaining Body Temperature

The primary function of sweat glands is temperature regulation. Sweating a lot in the summer is a response to rising body temperature due to increased environmental temperature, and it helps lower the body temperature back to normal. Conversely, we sweat less in the cold winter to maintain our average body temperature. Without the temperature-regulating function of sweat glands, humans would suffer every time the temperature changed even slightly.

Sweating A Lot Doesn’t Mean You’re Losing Weight

Many people think that sweating is associated with weight loss, but sweating does not necessarily mean you’re losing weight. While it’s true that you lose weight if you exercise enough to sweat profusely, deliberately sweating by wearing thick clothes or exercising in a hot place is ineffective and can also lead to dehydration, significantly reducing your exercise performance.

If You Have a Chronic Disease, Avoid Excessive Sweating

Those with chronic diseases such as diabetes or heart disease must be cautious, as excessive sweating can be dangerous. For people with diabetes, excessive sweating can cause blood sugar levels to spike, leading to hypoglycemia. The same applies to heart disease patients. The heart medication they take requires a certain level of potassium in the body, and excessive sweating can deplete potassium, preventing the heart from contracting correctly and potentially leading to an emergency.

You Could Lose Your Life If You Don’t Sweat At All

Sweat is an essential and inevitable part of the human body, and it is perfectly normal for a moderate amount to be excreted. However, you may need to consider a potential health issue if you sweat excessively or barely. The complete absence of sweat, known as ‘anhidrosis,’ can occur due to genetic reasons and can be accompanied by diabetic neuropathy, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and more. Other symptoms can appear due to abnormalities in the autonomic nervous system or when blood pressure drops.

What Is Abnormal Sweat?

Normal sweat is generally odorless and colorless. Abnormal sweat can present various symptoms in terms of smell and color. If your clear sweat is colored, it could indicate a health problem. When you’re not feeling well, your sweat can turn yellow; in rare cases, it can even turn brown or green. Therefore, if your sweat has a color, you should visit a hospital to check if you have a disease.

What If Sweat Differs by Body Part?

It’s not a problem if you sweat a lot, but sweating excessively in one specific area can cause concern. People in their middle ages often sweat uncontrollably from their face or scalp. If you sweat excessively from your groin, you should check whether your body is cold or weak. When your body temperature rises, or you feel tense and anxious, you sweat more from your armpits. Usually, sweat appears symmetrically on both sides, but if you sweat on one side only, it is recommended that you see a specialist for a diagnosis.

Rehydration is Essential After Sweating

After healthy sweating, it’s essential to replenish your fluids. If you’ve been sweating heavily due to intense exercise for an extended period, you should replenish fluids and electrolytes, and it’s also good to drink a sports drink that is quickly absorbed. Some people drink beer after sweating, but alcohol dilates blood vessels, making you feel hotter and causing a diuretic effect that expels fluids, so be careful.

By. Choi Deok-soo (press@daily.co.kr)