by Donna Ryan

Created on: April 08, 2009   Last Updated: May 12, 2010

One of the best ways to detoxify your system and lose weight is to sweat. That's right! A good sweat is just the thing to do to get rid of toxins, speed up your metabolism, strengthen your immune system, and speed the healing of sprains, strains and various types of muscular pain.

Many diseases and illnesses are a result of toxicity. These include cancer, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, allergies, obesity and dermatological problems. Also, because of our industrialized society, the body can retain such metals as lead, copper, aluminum, and mercury. Common symptoms resulting from toxicity include headaches, muscular pain, cough, fatigue, digestive disturbances, and weakness of the immune system.

If you're basically a healthy person, probably the best way to detoxify your system by sweating is in the sauna. Since the liver is the main organ that has the job of processing toxins for elimination, a good sweat helps stimulate the liver in this regard. Not only that, but it has many other therapeutic benefits that can't be overlooked.

Having a good sweat in a sauna significantly aids in reducing metals and toxins in the body. It can even rid the body of cholesterol. In addition, it assists in fat loss. To sweat, you have to expend a good amount of energy; therefore, your metabolic rate increases and so does your caloric expenditure. Sweating, for say, about an hour in a sauna can burn up to 300 calories! You could compare this, for instance, to jogging about three miles.

One important warning, though, with regards to a sauna session - drink plenty of water or fruit juice before, during, and after your session! Quite a bit of water can be lost (up to a quart) while you're in the sauna. Therefore, make sure you have the necessary liquids to supplement this kind of water loss. Not following this kind of cautionary measure can lead to nausea, fatigue, and even heart arrhythmia. Just make sure your have plenty of liquid on hand while in the sauna and you'll reap the many benefits a good sweat provides.

As already mentioned, sweating can speed the healing of sprains, strains, and muscular pains. In addition, it also helps alleviate the symptoms of bursitis, arthritis, vascular disease, and aids in killing harmful viruses and bacteria.

Since it's been proven that too much stress can cause an overload of toxins in the system, sitting in a sauna has also been deemed helpful in reducing the stress in our lives. Spending a session in a sauna causes one to feel relaxed. It's a great place, then, to de-stress and detoxify at the same time.

Still, if you're not one inclined to sit in a sauna, sweating is still a major benefit if you run, weight train, or do any kind of workout that works up a major sweat. So, go ahead, be healthy and sweat. Just remember to take shower afterward!

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