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Detoxification and Heart Disease

Sweat Toxins Out

Sweat does more than regulate body temperature. Many of the tens of thousands of man-made chemicals in our environment make their way into our food, water, and air. No matter how pure your diet or lifestyle, I guarantee that your body contains traces of hundreds, if not thousands, of chemicals such as pesticides, drugs, solvents, and dioxins. Even babies are vulnerable. The umbilical cord blood of the average newborn harbors around 200 industrial chemicals and pollutants!

But there are ways to get rid of stored toxins, and one of them is sweating. Sweating mobilizes toxins stored in the fat and enhances their elimination. If you’ve ever been around a heavy smoker or drinker, you know they reek of nicotine or alcohol—it literally pours out of their skin in their sweat. The same is true, although less obvious, of other toxins.

Here’s where sauna comes in. On an average day, your eccrine glands put out about a quart of sweat. But when you hang out in a sauna, they pump out that much in 15 minutes. Several researchers have looked at the effects of sauna on the body’s toxic burden. The best-studied protocol is the Hubbard Sauna Detoxification Program, which involves daily exercise followed by saunas for two and a half to five hours a day, with breaks for cooling down and rehydrating. Participants in this program also take niacin to stimulate circulation and fat mobilization, as well as multivitamins and polyunsaturated oils.

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