Your sweating can show that you are afraid, that your diet is not balanced or that you feel depressed. Discover the 9 amazing things your sweat can reveal about you and your health.A salty sweat can signal a sodium deficiency in the
Sweat can tell a lot about your fitness and your mood. Also, salty sweating can signal a sodium deficiency in the body. Does your sweat sting your eyes? Does it have an abrasive effect on an abrasion? Does your sweat leave you with a burning sensation on your skin or white marks on your face or clothes? If you answer yes to any of these questions, you should increase the sodium content of your diet. If necessary, lightly salt your foods – eggs, vegetables, meats – and drink energy drinks rather than plain water when you exercise.
Coffee stimulates sweat.ISTOCK/KIKOVIC
Too much java can be responsible for profuse sweating when you go to work in the morning. ” Coffee stimulates sweating in two ways ,” says Dr. Liz Lyster of Holtorf Medical Group (Foster City, Calif.) in the Huffington Post . “Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system and activates sweat glands, so the more you take, the more you sweat. In addition, the heat from the liquid can warm you up to the point of making you sweat. If you can’t break your coffee addiction, switch to decaffeinated or iced coffee. Here are other foods that alter your body odor.Apply your antiperspirant at the right time.ISTOCK/CENTRALITALLIANCE
” An antiperspirant works best on very dry skin ,” says Dr. David Pariser, founder and secretary of the International Hyperhidrosis Society. “If you use it in the morning just before leaving or straight after showering, you will have already started sweating or your armpits might still be wet. If the surface of the skin is not dry, the chemical reaction of the aluminum in the antiperspirant will occur on the surface rather than in the pores.
This can prevent the sweat glands from becoming clogged.” Even if you shower in the morning, apply antiperspirant the night before before going to bed. On very dry skin, the effect of the product can last a few days. After the shower, apply a lightly scented deodorant and you’ll be done.An analysis conducted by the US military speaks of the smell of fear in a literal sense. For this study, researchers took sweat samples from 20 novice skydivers before and during their first tandem jump, as well as during exercise on a treadmill for the same length of time. Each of the two samples was smelled by volunteers whose brains were observed on a scanner. The regions of the brain associated with fear were more active when they smelled the samples taken on the plane than with those on the treadmill. These results are based on the evolution of species: in our ancestors, pheromones associated with fear could warn others of impending danger.The smell of sweat plays an important role as a means of alerting contagious diseases.Fight an infection by perspiration
Do you think your cubicle neighbor doesn’t smell like roses this week? She may be sick. A study published in Psychological Science demonstrated that healthy people can detect the accelerated process of the immune system in those fighting an infection. According to the study, smell plays an important role as a means of alerting contagious diseases. Moreover, doctors can detect these diseases by smell!
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Sweat: Fit people sweat more profusely and faster than others.ISTOCK/MIHAILOMILOVANOVIC
A good workout
If you find yourself sweating earlier than usual during training, that doesn’t mean you’re losing stamina. On the contrary. In a study published in 2010, researchers noted that fit people sweat more profusely and faster than others. A great physical condition allows you to train with more intensity which generates more heat, and therefore more perspiration ,” explains Dr. Craig Crandall, professor of internal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.The sweat may be due to depression.ISTOCK/MARTIN DIMITROV
Negative stress and depression
In healthy people, environmental changes that cause fear, stress, intense joy or nervousness affect both the volume of their sweat and the smell of it. However, in depressed people, the reaction to stimuli would be less sustained.
A German-Swedish study identified this moderate reaction in 97% of depressed subjects who subsequently committed suicide. “This is probably a sign that some of the nerve cells in their hippocampus had been altered by depression and negative stress,” wrote Lars-Hakan Thorelle, one of the study’s authors , in a press release . “A depressed person exhibits a biological inability to react to their environment, whereas a healthy person is always ready for it.”
Sweat: If you smile when you sweat, people around you will smile too.
If you smile when you sweat, people around you will smile too. At least that’s what a Dutch study suggests. To prove this, the researchers had 36 women smell sweat samples from 12 men who had watched frightening or comforting videos. The sweat in the face of the horror provoked in the women a reaction which mimicked fear, while that of good humor produced a smile.
Night sweats occur during the first three months of pregnancy.ISTOCK/G-STOCKSTUDIO
Expectant mothers complain of sweating a lot during pregnancy. It’s the result of increased hormonal activity, blood flow, and metabolism , says Dr. Mary L. Rosser. Night sweats occur during the first three months of pregnancy. If not, here are other medical reasons for your night sweats. The hot flashes of menopause come from the same hormonal imbalance.
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