Cleveland Clinic Says Sweat Regulates Temperature, Not Detoxes, Citing 3 Main Body Functions
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · Jul 1
Cleveland Clinic Says Sweat Regulates Temperature, Not Detoxes, Citing 3 Main Body Functions
2 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Jul 1
Summary
Three core functions of sweat—cooling the body, protecting against skin infection and hydrating skin—make it beneficial, Cleveland Clinic said, while stressing detoxification is not its primary role.
Dr. Mona Foad said the liver and kidneys, not sweat, handle most toxin removal; sweat may only wash away trace heavy metals on the skin, and one study found exercise slightly outperformed saunas for that effect.
No single amount of sweat is considered normal or necessary, Foad said, because output varies with genetics, fitness, environment, medications and health; the key is whether a person's pattern changes significantly over time.
Antiperspirants applied to small areas such as the underarms generally do not impair the body's cooling system because millions of sweat glands elsewhere still regulate temperature, though whole-body use is not advised.
The guidance pushes back on fitness marketing that equates heavier sweating with a healthier or more effective workout, emphasizing that exercise benefits come from the activity itself, not from sweat volume.