Fitness Magazine posted “Surprising Stats About Sweat” featuring Dr. Purvisha Patel.
Do you have problems with sweat? Dr. Patel talked to Fitness Magazine about why we sweat, who sweats the most and how to solve this problem.
It’s hot out, you’ve just finished a bike ride, and you’re dripping. The sweat you’re wiping away is more than just the result of a killer workout or the steamy summer temperatures, though. It’s actually a clue to what you’re thinking and feeling. The compounds in perspiration send out a particular scent that can telegraph your mood to the people around you, research has found. Sweat glands are also a surprising source of injury-treating stem cells, which means that your perspiration may someday heal you. Who knew something so icky could be so powerful? But while sweat may be a miracle liquid in the lab, no one wants it to linger too long. Here’s how to get it under control.
Your Body on Sweat
When you do any physical activity, your temperature rises, triggering your brain to release the chemical acetylcholine, which then travels down your spinal cord and into the millions of eccrine sweat glands all over your body.
“Acetylcholine prompts the eccrine glands to pull water and salt from the blood to the skin’s surface to help cool us down,” says Purvisha Patel, MD, a dermatologist for Advanced Dermatology and Skin Cancer Associates in Memphis.