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JUNE 2016 MUSCLE & FITNESS 15

ARTIGA PHOTO/CORBIS

sweat

1 |

Hold the sriracha. Cafeinated

beverages and spicy foods can

make you sweatier. The extra sweat

mixed with bacteria on your skin

can lead to serious BO.

2 |

According to the journal

Psychological Science, a person’s

emotions can be transferred through

exposure to body odours – also known

as chemosignals – carried in sweat.

3 |

Humans have two types of sweat

glands. Eccrine glands, found on

the body’s surface, are activated by a

rise in body temperature; they secrete

mostly water and salt. Apocrine glands,

located in areas abundant in hair follicles

• like your pits and groin –get stirred
  up by emotional stress; they secrete
  more of an opaque fluid.

4 |

Excessive sweating – hyperhidrosis

• aicts three percent of the global
  population. The most common symptom?
  Super-sweaty hands, feet and armpits.
  Treatment includes Botox, laser therapy,
  acupuncture, hypnosis, a gluten-free diet
  and herbal remedies such as chamomile
  and valerian root. The wildest method
  may be iontophoresis, which blocks
  sweat glands with an electrical current.

5 |

Don’t bother “sweating it out.”

Toxins can’t be excreted through

sweat, so although sweat can contain

trace amounts of certain toxins, the

primary function of sweat is to cool

the body, not detox it.

6 |

Not being able to sweat normally

• anhidrosis – can be dangerous
  and lead to overheating and dehydration.
  Depending on the severity, the fix can
  include chugging liquids or rinsing off
  in a cool bath or shower.

7 |

Salirophilia is the sexual attraction

to soiling or soiled things (which

can include sweaty objects). There are

plenty of websites dedicated to this

fetish... or so we’ve been told.

8 |

A single sweat sample has been

used to diagnose cystic fibrosis

and can even track drug levels. Soon,

wearables will be able to provide specific

metrics via sweat ions that can help

predict an athlete’s likelihood to

become exhausted or injure muscles.

9 |

Fitness guru Richard Simmons

has helped millions of people

shed millions of kilos through his

Sweatin’ to the Oldies videos.

“Sweat bees” are

attracted to human sweat

and are equipped with

short tongues for lapping

it up. There are hundreds

of varieties of sweat bee

all around the world.

BY TAL PINCHEVSKY

...YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT

10 THINGS... EDGE