Sweating in the summer heat promotes good health

Monday, July 26, 2010 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: sweating, good health, health news

(NaturalNews) Summertime heat is an annoyance to some people, but according to Xu Qian, director of the infectious diseases department at the China-Japan Frienship Hospital in Beijing, sweating from the hot, summer heat is a natural part of keeping your body healthy, and avoiding this heat can actually cause health problems.

People typically run their air conditioners throughout the summertime in order to beat the heat, but doing so can actually compromise the immune system.

"People should go with the rules of nature. Summer is the time to sweat. It's a natural process for the body to respond to the outside environment, and adjust itself through the constricting of blood vessels and nerves. In this sense, air conditioning is a reactive restrain of the body against nature," Qian explained in a China Daily article.

Excessive sweating without replenishing the body with water, electrolytes and healthy salt, can be a bad thing, but not sweating at all can be even worse. And moving from hot areas to cold areas, and vice versa, on a regular basis throughout the summer can put excessive strain on a person's health

"Air conditioning might induce infection of the upper respiratory tract, cause colds, throat pain, pharyngitis, and even pneumonia," said Qian.

Sweating is also an important method by which the skin helps to eliminate toxins from the body.

"One of [the skin's] functions is to eliminate a portion of the body's toxic waste products through sweating," explains Phyllis A. Balch, CNC, in her book Prescription for Nutritional Healing, 4th Edition: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2010-07/21...

http://www.naturalpedia.com/S/Sweating-skin....