You, me, us: sweating – we all do it! On a sultry summer day, during your weekly jogging session or during a stressful moment … sweating is something we all have to deal with, even on a daily basis. Although we often see sweating as an inconvenience, there is much more to those little droplets than we think at first glance. Did you know, for example, that sweat helps detoxify your body? The ideal reset after a night out with friends.
5 facts about sweat that you probably didn't know
1 - Sweat is odorless
Yes, you read that right: your sweat doesn't actually have an odor. Sweat consists of 99% water and is completely odorless. The odor, which we know as the typical 'sweat smell', is created when the moisture comes into contact with certain bacteria that are present in your armpit.
2 - We lose an average of 1 liter of sweat per day
When you do intensive sports or stay in tropical places, this can even amount to 7 to 10 liters of fluid per day. During hot days we will sweat faster and it is therefore also important that you drink more water and eat moist vegetables such as tomatoes and cucumber.
3 - We have millions of sweat glands
The average human body has between two and four million sweat glands. These glands are distributed throughout the body, but are mainly located on the palms of your hands, soles of your feet, forehead and armpits.
4 - The older you get, the less you sweat
As you get older, the activity and number of sweat glands in your body decreases. As a result, older people sweat less and therefore have more difficulty cooling their bodies, making them more susceptible to overheating.
5 - You sweat what you eat
Some foods cause your sweat smell to take on a different odor. Garlic and onion, but also vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, cauliflower or asparagus cause a strong body odor. These foods contain certain substances that are broken down during digestion and metabolism. The substances accumulate in the sweat and are then secreted by your skin.
