No one likes when her face is too damp to apply makeup on summer mornings or when it seems like every white shirt you own is permanently discolored, but sweat is actually the body’s (pretty brilliant) built-in cooling system. Your body temperature rises, your nervous system gives your sweat glands the green light, and moisture pops onto your skin, where it promptly (well, eventually) evaporates, cooling you down in the process. (Not feeling as well as you used to? Learn how to heal your body—and lose up to 13 pounds in just 2 weeks—with Prevention’s12-day liver detox!)
And yet, we’re constantly at battle with our sweat: trying to make it stink less, trying to stop it altogether during an important meeting, then trying to lose buckets of it at the gym. But if you stop and pay attention, all that perspiration can actually teach you a surprising amount about yourself and your health. Here are a few things it’s trying to tell you.
You need more sodium
Salty sweat is your body’s request for more sodium. If your sweat stings your eyes, burns in an open cut, leaves a gritty feeling on your skin, or produces white streaks on your face or clothes, it could be your cue to amp up your sodium intake. Add salt to foods such as eggs, vegetables, or meats, and drink a sports drink rather than plain water when you exercise, advises Runner’s World.
You might need to kick the coffee habit
Too much java could be to blame for the sweat circles that appear on your morning commute. “Coffee increases perspiration in two ways,” Liz Lyster, MD, of Holtorf Medical Group in Foster City, California, told Huffington Post. “First, caffeine stimulates the central nervous system, activating sweat glands so the more caffeine you have, the more you sweat. Secondly, the heat from the drink itself can make your body feel hot enough to sweat.” If you can’t kick your coffee habit completely, opt for iced or decaf.
You’re applying antiperspirant at the wrong time
open next page to continue reading….
