FitSugar

Can You Sweat These Facts?

FitSugar — Tue, 19 May 2009 04:30:00 -0700

Whether you love it or hate it, working up a sweat is a natural part of working out. But do you know what's going on in your body when you perspire? Take my quiz and see if you can sweat the facts about sweating.

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You Asked: Is It Unhealthy to Wear Antiperspirant While Exercising?

FitSugar — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:10:00 -0700

Dear Fit,
I'm a big fan of wearing antiperspirant because I don't want to be stinky. Recently though, a friend of mine told me it was unhealthy to wear it while exercising because antiperspirant prevents your body from naturally excreting harmful toxins. Is this true?
- Pondering Antiperspirant Pam

This is a wonderful question as exercise and sweating go hand in hand. To hear what I have to say on the matter, read more.

Sweating is your body's natural way of regulating your body temperature. When you're hot, your body emits moisture from its sweat glands to cool you down. If you wear an antiperspirant, the aluminum used in them penetrates your sweat glands and squeezes them shut, which prevents you from perspiring. Don't worry about the idea that sweating releases toxins, since only trace amounts of toxins are present in your sweat. Remember that sweat's only purpose is to cool you off. Since your armpits aren't the only place you have sweat glands, your body can still find a way to lower your body temp if you get too hot while exercising. So as long as you can wear antiperspirant while working out without overheating, you can feel good about slathering it on to prevent odor. If you do feel it's unhealthy to stop your body from sweating, you can buy deodorant without antiperspirant, which will help control odor but won't prevent perspiration.

On a related note, you may have heard that aluminum in antiperspirants causes breast cancer, which is what your friend may be referring to as harmful, but that myth has been debunked.

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Sweating During a Workout: Love It or Hate It?

FitSugar — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 09:00:00 -0700

I love a good, sweaty workout. My drenched clothes are like a badge of honor after a particularly tough run or bike ride. While I embrace perspiration from exercise, some people simply hate getting sweaty for one reason or another. What's your attitude toward sweating?

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During Exercise, Are You Drenched in Sweat?

FitSugar — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 04:30:00 -0700

When I exercise, I expect to sweat. It's all part of the reason I love to move. Sweating makes me feel like I've worked hard and am cleansing myself. My workouts are tough, so I usually end up sweating a lot, especially if the temperature is hot. Afterwards, my clothes are usually pretty saturated. I've seen people though who can ring out their shirts from all their sweat, and I've seen people whose skin is barely glistening. So where do you fall when it comes to exercise and sweat?

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The Sweatiest Cities in America

FitSugar — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:30:00 -0700

In some places - not San Francisco, I can tell you that - it's hot outside. When the sun is blaring, a lot of us start dripping in sweat especially when we're working out. MSNBC is reporting that your city may make you extra sweatier than others, which means you should take extra caution to hydrate and drink electrolytes on your outdoor workouts this Summer. Here are the top 15 sweatiest cities in the US:

Phoenix, Ariz.
Las Vegas, Nev.
Tallahassee, Fla.
Tucson, Ariz.
Memphis, Tenn.
Miami, Fla.
Houston, Texas
Tampa, Fla.
Baton Rouge, La.
Fort Myers, Fla.
Huntsville, Ala.
New Orleans, La.
Birmingham, Ala.
Jacksonville, Fla.
West Palm Beach, Fla.

To see the 15 least sweatiest cities just read more.

Rochester, N.Y.
Albany, N.Y.
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Colorado Springs, Colo.
Flint, Mich.
Syracuse, N.Y.
San Diego, Calif.
Youngstown, Ohio
Green Bay, Wis.
Burlington, Vt.
Spokane, Wash.
Portland, Maine
Portland, Ore.
Seattle, Wash.
San Francisco, Calif.

Where does your city fall? I'm not shocked that SF is last on the list. I do have to add that I do find it very funny that this list was commissioned by Old Spice; not Degree or Secret but good ol' Old Spice.

To see the full list of sweaty cities check out MSNBC.

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You Asked: Does Sweating Mean You're Burning More Calories?

FitSugar — Fri, 30 May 2008 03:30:00 -0700

You're asking and I'm answering. . .

Dear Fit,
I work out with a friend of mine all the time. Whether we're running, biking, or in a yoga class, she's always drenched in sweat. I feel like we're both equally fit, but I hardly sweat. Does that mean I'm burning less calories?
-Dry Dara

I'm so glad you asked about this because I'm sure other readers were wondering about the connection between sweating and calorie burn too. To see my answer, just read more.

Your body creates sweat to cool you off when your body temperature gets too high. How much you sweat has nothing to do with how many calories you burn. What matters is how long and how intensely you're working out. Any weight loss that you experience immediately after a workout is only water weight, and you'll gain it right back as soon as you rehydrate yourself. So don't worry about not sweating. If you go for a 30-minute run and you haven't sweat a drop, you still burned almost 300 calories.

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Favorite Excuse for Not Working Out: Sweating Makes Me Breakout

FitSugar — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 12:30:00 -0700

Part of getting a good workout means that I sweat a lot. I don't necessarily need to be sopping wet like when I take a Bikram yoga class, but a little sweat makes me feel like I pushed myself.

The bad thing about sweating when you workout is that it can lead to breakouts, and not just on your face. Blemishes can appear on your back, neck and chest, but they don't have to.

Here are some tips on preventing exercise-related pimples:

Wash your face before working out to get all the oil and makeup off. Then apply a facial moisturizer that's made for acne-prone skin such as Neutrogena's Oil-Free Anti-Acne Moisturizer.
Always wear clean workout clothes. Choose a sports bra and tank top that has over-the-shoulder sleeves instead of a racerback or t-shirt that covers your back. Wear the least amount of clothes while still feeling comfortable, since the more your skin is covered, the hotter you'll feel and the more you'll sweat.
Wear clothes made of breathable fabric. Many sports bras and tops are made of wicking material that pulls sweat off the skin.

There are more tips. To see them read more

If you like to do weight training or stretching after your sweaty cardio routine, dry yourself off in between and then change into a dry bra and top.
Shower immediately after exercising to prevent body acne. Not only does it rinse the sweat and pimple-causing bacteria off your skin, but the water also helps to cool your body temperature down so you don't continue sweating once you get out. If you can't shower, definitely wash your face and peel off those sweaty clothes. Completely dry off and put on clean, dry clothes. Then hit the shower as soon as you can.
Exfoliate your skin. I like to use loofah gloves in the shower (My fave are from The Body Shop, $7). They're gentle enough to use everyday, on your face and the rest of your body. Use the gloves with an antibacterial cleanser such as Cetaphil, or soaps that have acne medicine in them, such as salicylic acid. Gently scrub your skin to unclog pores and slough off dead skin cells.

Fit's Tips: Whatever you do, don't stop working out. If acne is still a problem after trying out these tips, seeing a dermatologist is a great idea.

You Asked: Does Fitter Mean Sweatier?

FitSugar — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 04:00:00 -0700

I have a question: is the amount of sweat you produce at all related to how
physically fit you are? Since I have been working out consistently and am in good shape, the amount I sweat when exerting myself has dramatically increased. Is there any correlation?
- Sweaty Sally

When you exercise, the muscles generate too much heat for the air to absorb. Then skin and the body's interior signal to the brain to begin the sweating process. Some people have fewer than two million sweat glands while some have as many as five million -- So we all sweat at different rates.

But onto the answer of your question: Is sweating a measure of how fit you are? Research shows that when you increase stamina and conditioning, you begin to sweat “more efficiently.” (I've endearingly named this process your sweatness.) In other words, you sweat earlier, or at a lower internal temperature, than previously. Sweating earlier helps the body better regulate core temperature in all climates and at all activity levels - One more benefit of cardiovascular exercise. So, you may just be starting to sweat earlier than when you were less fit, which is most likely what you're experiencing.

Furthermore, humans tend to be a little cooler in the morning, a little warmer in the late afternoon, which means the time of day you're exercising could have something to do with it too.

One last point is that women run about half a degree higher after ovulation (which could lead to sweating more) and excess unnecessary sweat is normal during menopause. This could also be a reason you may be sweating more at certain times.

Regardless of how much you sweat, always drink before, during and after exercising.

You Asked: Potassium and Sodium, What Is the Connection?

FitSugar — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 11:00:00 -0700

Dear FitSugar,
Since you have been covering a lot of ground on sodium and potassium, I heard that sodium and potassium levels compete with each other, so if the presence of one mineral rises, the amount of the other drops. Is that true?

I thought this was an interesting question, but a little out of my league, so I asked my friend, nutritionist Rania Batayneh, MPH of Essential Nutrition For You.

Here's what she had to say:

With regards to sodium and potassium in the body, the first thing to know is they are key electrolytes in the body- the third of importance is chloride. These electrolytes found in the body have a great influence on the flow of water between the various fluid compartments because of something referred to as osmotic pressure. They also influence the contraction of muscles and the transmission of nerve impulses by the nervous system. With regards to your question, it is seen in cells, for example, that potassium is constantly pumped into cells and sodium is constantly pumped out of the cell. This maintains our Na+/K+ (sodium/potassium) balance. Furthermore, it is often said that sodium (salt) is considered to be the dietary factor most related to blood pressure, but is appears that the sodium/potassium ratio is more important that the absolute amount of sodium.

I find that all very interesting and it reinforces the notion what you put in your body affects your body on a cellular level. Rania is a wealth of knowledge! If you have some specific questions for her, I encourage you to take advantage of her free 15 minute consultation. Especially if you would like to talk about creating an eating strategy that is right for you.

Antiperspirants Don't Let You Sweat

FitSugar — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 03:30:00 -0700

Taking care of yourself, watching what you eat and exercising, you might be a little more sensitive about what you put on your body. While the myth that aluminum in deodorant causes breast cancer has been debunked, you might not feel comfortable with using antiperspirants that contain aluminum since they actually prevent you from sweating.

The aluminum in antiperspirants is drawn into the cells of your dermis (the middle layer of your skin), and it squeezes your sweat gland ducts closed, trapping sweat, preventing you from perspiring. It is not the sweat that creates odor, but the bacteria on your skin and the sweat combined. There are some important days when I can't avoid antiperspirants, but other days I like to just use deodorant. It seems more natural.

I have tried many aluminum-free deodorants and here are some that I have liked.

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Is there an aluminum free deodorant out there that you like? Let me know in the comment section below.