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CAN YOU GET RID OF TOXINS VIA SWEATING?


Sweating buckets more than others when you’re carrying out the same activity is considered a taboo – especially for the ladies. But treatments and tools such as infrared saunas and hot yoga are being touted as a way to relax your body, weight loss as well as helping you to flush out toxins from your body through sweat.  

If you have been hitting the saunas or signing up for treatments that promise you to help get rid of the toxins in your body naturally via sweating it out, it’s time to stop believing these promises! The belief that you can detox your body through sweating is nothing more than a myth! 

Sweating functions as a bodily response to help your body cool down. When sweat evaporates from the body, it takes heat away from your body, bringing the bodily temperature down in the process. Sweating does not help to clear and cleanse our body of toxins – that’s the job of our kidneys and liver

But as we know, when there’s smoke, there’s fire. Though sweat is primarily made of water and minerals, it also contains some toxic substances. However, the amount is so minuscule that getting rid of toxins via sweating is futile. 

The body is able to get rid of toxins naturally mainly via these three organs: the Colon, the Liver and the Kidney

The Liver helps to filters out the toxic substances from the food we consume so that our bloodstream is clean and free from harmful substances.

The Kidney filters toxins from the blood and removes them as urine.

Lastly, the Colon consists of bacteria which helps to encourage regular bowel movements, cleansing the colon. 

If you can’t get rid of toxins via sweating, what are some other ways that can help in detoxing the body?

1. Vomiting

As nauseating as it sounds, TCM physicians will prescribe medication that helps to induce vomiting so that toxins are forced out of the body through the mouth. 

2. Removing heat

Another way TCM approaches to remove toxins is by using herbs which are cooling in nature to remove the heatiness and toxins in the body. This treatment is usually prescribed for those who have symptoms such as high fever, sore throat and dry mouth. The herbs are usually soaked in water and made into tea. 

3. Replenishment

Herbs are not only used as tea to clear toxins, it can also be used to boost our qi and blood circulation, facilitating the removal of toxins. Popular herbs which you can find in your TCM stores in Singapore are dang sheng (codonopsis) and huang qi (astranagus). 

4. Purging

Lastly, the most natural ways a toxin can be removed from the body is through passing motion. Cassia seeds are usually used in Traditional Chinese Medicine as it can help to promote bowel movement, clearing the stomach and intestines of all those nasty toxins. Along with the seeds, massaging the stomach and the belly button area is also recommended to facilitate bowel movement.