How many times have you heard, “Sweat out your toxins?” Whether it’s from your grandmother or an overly enthusiastic trainer, we’ve all heard it at one point or another. Sweating is super important, but releasing toxins from your body is actually a little more complicated than getting into a sauna or hopping on a treadmill for 15 minutes.

What Does Sweating Do?

The primary function of sweat is to cool the body. So when you’re getting after it at the gym or that conference room that’s too small, your temperature climbs. In response, your body releases moisture in the form of water and salt. This mixture evaporates off the skin which cools you down.

What Is Sweat Made Of?

Sweat is mostly water, about 99%. Other from the H2O, sweat is made up of minerals. This is why your sweat has a salty taste. (Not that we’ve tasted it or anything.) These minerals aren’t innately harmful. If your system has too many of these minerals, sweating reduces their levels. In that sense, you can flush certain things out of your body through sweat. Read on to find out.

About Those Toxins

Some research suggests it is possible to sweat out small amounts of BPA, a toxin found in plastic. This research, however, indicates that the amount is so tiny that it shouldn’t be expected to have a significant impact on health.

How Toxins Are Really Removed

It’s all about your liver and kidney! These two organs are responsible for filtering out all different types of waste, including toxins. We know sweat prevention a little better than our liver science, so if you’re looking for a little extra info on the body’s detoxification, we recommend checking out this article.

Sweating Is Still Important

It sounds so catchy and achievable, but it seems that detoxification is largely up to your internal organs. Sweating is still essential, so don’t quit that spin class yet! Just remember that you’re mostly flushing minerals and not heavy metals.