Sweating and its health benefits
After a long tiring workout at the gym or even after a long day of traveling alone, can probably make you sweat a whole tank of sweaty liquid. The thought of being drenched in all that sweat can also irritate some folks. There is no doubt that sweating can be a little irritating.
But did you know that sweating has a lot of health benefits too? All this time the only thought you ever had about your sweat was a foul-smelling liquid secreted by your body when you became tired. But just remember that this particular body liquid might just help your body in some serious ways. In a way, this liquid alone can help the body to repair itself. Take a look at some of the ways sweating can help benefit the body.
Exercising and sweating can probably make you live longer!
Researchers found out that vigorous physical activity that can make you both tired and sweaty is the key to avoiding even early death.
Around 204,542 people were closely investigated by researchers for a period of 6 years. The individuals were compared with those who engaged in only moderate activity such as gentle swimming, social tennis and household chores with those individuals who took part in a more vigorous activity like jogging, aerobics, and competitive tennis.
It was found that the risk of mortality for those who engaged in vigorous activity was 9 to 13 percent lower compared with those individuals who only undertook a moderate activity. Also, the benefits of vigorous activities applied to both men and women of all ages and were independent of the total amount of time spent being active.
The results also indicated that regardless of a whether a person was obese, or whether or not a person had heart disease or even diabetes, by undertaking a few vigorous activities could help provide significant benefits for longer life.
What does WHO say?
According to the experts from the World Health Organization and health authorities in countries like the US, UK, and Australia, it is necessary for adults to accumulate at least 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week.
The study!
As study as carried out where the participants were placed in two separate groups.
- Those who reported that none of their physical activity was at a vigorous level
- Those who reported that upto 30 percent or more of their activities was at a vigorous level.
The results showed that -
- Those who reported up to 30 percent vigorous activity was 9 % lower than those who reported no vigorous activity.
- Those who reported in engaging in vigorous activities for more than 30 % of their time, the rate of mortality was reduced by 13 percent.
So how tired should a person get to live longer?
Researchers advice on taking the following precautions before starting any new form of vigorous activity or exercise-
- Even small amounts of vigorous activity could help reduce your risk of early death.
- However, for patients with a medical condition for older adults and for those people who may have never undertaken any form of vigorous activity or exercise in their life, it is highly recommended that they go and take advice from a doctor first.
- Previous studies also indicate that interval training, with short bursts of vigorous efforts, is often manageable for older people, including individuals who are overweight or obese.
The research was carried out by Dr. Klaus Gebel from James Cook University’s Center for Chronic Disease Prevention.
Sweat Glands help heal human wounds faster !!
If you thought that sweat glands were only good for secreting bodily fluids, wrong !! Those glands can help benefit you in healing your wounds.
Power of the human skin !!
The human skin is rich with millions of eccrine sweat glands that help the body cool down after a tiring workout at the gym or on really hot day. These same glands also happen to play a key role in providing cells for recovering skin wounds such as scrapes, burns, and ulcers.
What do researchers say?
According to one researcher, skin ulcers including those caused by diabetes or bed sores and other non-healing wounds remain a tremendous burden on health services and communities around the world. Also treating chronic wounds can cost upto tens of billions of dollars annually in the US alone.
However, researchers have now discovered one of the body’s most powerful secret weapons in the healing process. Previous understanding of wound closure was that the new skin cells originate from hair follicles and from intact skin at the edge of the wound.
Research findings now demonstrate that cells arise from beneath the wound and suggest that human eccrine sweat glands also store an important reservoir of adult stem cells that can quickly be recruited to aid wound healing.
According to one researcher, the regenerative potential of sweat glands has been one of the human body’s best-kept secrets. This could further help scientists not only get a better understanding of the normal healing process but can also hopefully pave the way for designing better, targeted therapies.
The research was carried out Laure Ritte Ph. D, a research assistant professor of dermatology at the University Of Michigan Medical School.
Sweat contains a secret antibiotic !!
Researchers have now discovered an important natural antibiotic called dermcidin, produced by our skin when we sweat. This is a highly efficient tool that just may be efficient enough to fight off tuberculosis germs and even other dangerous bugs.
Sweat spreads highly efficient antibiotics on to our skin which protects us from dangerous bugs. If our skin becomes injured by a small cut, a scratch, or even the sting of a mosquito, certain antibiotic agents secreted in our sweat glands such as dermcidin, rapidly and efficiently destroy such infections.
These natural substances are also called antimicrobial peptides or AMPs and are more effective in the long term than traditional antibiotics as germs are not capable of quickly developing resistance against them.
Researchers have known for some time that dermcidin is activated in salty or slightly acidic sweat. The molecule the forms tiny channels perforating the cell membrane of bugs which are later stabilized by charged particles in sweat. As consequence water and charged particles flow uncontrollably across the membrane thus destroying all the harmful particles.
The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Edinburgh and from Goettingen, Tuebingen, and Strasbourg.