Now when I break a sweat at the gym I feel a certain sense of pride. I like passing by a mirror and seeing myself all red faced with my hair stuck to my forehead. Pretty picture? Not really. Actually, not even a little bit...but I still strive for it. I still hate those humid days that cause me to drip with sweat after just a few minutes into my run, but I take it for what it's worth...sweating that is...and it's actually worth quite a bit.
- It helps the body cool down. One of the greatest health benefits about this process is while it is trying to cool down, your heart actually starts to pump and work harder to increase circulation. This improves your cardiovascular system.
- It helps the body remove toxic materials by sweating them out through the pores. Sodium, alcohol, nicotine (but we don't smoke, do we?), cholesterol, etc.
- It boosts your immune system! When your body temperature starts to increase and is raised, it mimics a fever and your body starts to actually fight it, thus making your immune system stronger. Sweating through exercise helps to make you better! (There are times you should just get under the covers and rest...that topic coming soon to a blog near you.)
- It can actually help us control our weight. When you are sweating, you are working hard. This means you have increased your caloric demand...hence burning more calories. This causes the body to also decrease and remove cellulite.
- It deeply cleanses your skin and makes it glow. It improves the tone and texture of your skin and will actually add a healthy glow and color to your face.
(bullet points pilfered and slightly altered from a blog called Moses Fitness)
hmmmm..... Me thinks some (all?) of that is sketchy science at best.
ReplyDeleteYour body sweats to help lower your core temperature, which gets elevated during work, eating (digestion), etc. Elevated core temp = bad for all the working parts inside your body. So the body releases heat to the outside. (Think of an air conditioner - it doesn't actually cool your house, it removes (transfers) the heat in the air and as a result, your house is cooler.)
Sweating is good for you, yes. In the sense that it allows you to not die from cooked organs when exerting yourself. Good engineering on God's part there.
The rest of it? Remember, God's a great engineer. He put in a pretty good system. If you choose not to sweat profusely from exercise, your body will be fine. You're actually sweating all day long, even at rest. You just don't feel it.
Eat a meal? Time to sweat. Why? You've taken the energy in food, calories, and consumed them to fuel your body's processes. Heat is generated. That heat would elevate your core temp. Time to sweat out some excess heat.
Sure, Jesus was a carpenter, but his Pop was Engineer # 1.
Now, exercise is the part that's good for you. Sweating? Byproduct. Not much else I suspect.
Sorry.
-W
Love your blog, look forward to new additions in the future as well! You are very inspiring Lesia!
ReplyDeleteAnd just another little tid bit, I don't know how you feel about anonymous posters...but I sure do not like anyone to comment on blogs unless they have the sense to own up to them. :) Keep on writing--I love it.