Studies have shown that sweat excretes waste products and toxins. In 2023, yet another study was published that detected pesticides, organophosphates and pyrethroids in sweat induced by infrared sauna.
Sweat is mainly the body's cooling system, but studies have also shown that sweat excretes environmental toxins, such as Bisphenol A (BPA), cadmium, lead, and arsenic.
– Although these are small studies, they offer very interesting observations. Several studies in recent years have shown that sweat contains environmental toxins. Personally, I am convinced that sweating helps detoxify the body, says Siw Hansson Kaulbach, founder of Radiant Health.
– Perhaps it was different many years ago when we weren't exposed to the extent of toxins we are exposed to today.
Every day we are exposed to harmful substances in the environment we live in. Could it be that sweat has taken on more tasks in the body beyond being a cooling system?
Affects the nervous system
Food is a major source of environmental toxins, including organophosphates and pyrethroids, which are used in pesticides against insects and fungi, among other things. Organophosphates (OP) and pyrethroids (PYR) are insecticides (insecticides), chemical substances that primarily affect the nervous system of insects.
Pesticides are used worldwide, and global exposure via diet, inhalation, or skin contact is reflected in the number of reports documenting OP or PYR in urine, often in 80-100% of samples.
Urine is the gold standard for sampling.
Insecticides can have varying degrees of toxicity levels for humans and the environment. The long-term health effects of environmental exposures are unclear, but recent studies suggest that some of these insecticides have endocrine-disrupting properties that can, among other things, cause birth defects, autism, affect male fertility, puberty, and the development of endometriosis.
Organophosphates and pyrethroids are excreted through sweat
In 2023, a study was published where researchers wanted to investigate whether organophosphates and pyrethroids are also excreted via sweat. Although sweat is excreted from the body's largest organ, its role in excretory metabolism is less understood. The researchers wanted to examine whether sweat can help shed light on how the body gets rid of these insecticides.
10 women participated in the study. They underwent three interventions – control, infrared sauna, and indoor cycling. Four insecticide metabolites were repeatedly measured in sweat and urine.
Organophosphate metabolites were detected in 84.6% and pyrethroids in 26.9% of the collected sweat samples. Both infrared sauna and exercise were shown to improve the body's general detoxification. The concentration of three metabolites increased in urine samples after taking an infrared sauna, in addition to the measurements made in sweat.
The results raise exciting questions about the role of sweat in the metabolism and excretion of synthetic pesticides.
Pesticides in fruits and vegetables
Within given limit values, there is no scientific evidence that pesticides pose a health risk. At the same time, there are still knowledge gaps about how pesticides affect our health in the short and long term. The professional community is divided as we know too little about the combined effects. A recommendation is to use the precautionary principle.
The Norwegian Food Safety Authority prepared a report in 2022, where they had investigated 1142 products, finding pesticides in 40% of Norwegian-produced products, 70% of EU/EEA products, and 63% of products from outside the EU/EEA.
Pesticides above the limit values were also detected. In products from Norway and the EU/EEA, these were not considered to pose a health hazard to the consumer. In 14 of the products from countries outside the EU/EEA, the exceedances were considered to pose an acute health hazard.
Strawberries have for many years been high on the list of "worst offenders" when it comes to environmental toxins in food. In the period between 2012 and 2015, residues of 8 different pesticides were detected in one and the same sample of Norwegian-produced strawberries. In imported strawberries, residues of 12 different pesticides were found. A total of 19 different pesticides were detected in Norwegian berries and 54 different pesticides in imported berries.
Organic food and IR sauna can reduce pesticide load
Organic food can be an effective way to reduce organophosphate intake through food while adhering to dietary advice of "five a day."
In a study where adults ate organic food for one week, the amount of pesticides (organophosphate) decreased by almost 90%. In another study, children who ate organic food once a week had lower levels of pesticides and phthalates (plasticizers in plastic) in their urine.
Perhaps an infrared sauna is not a bad idea either.
– In a world where we are increasingly exposed to environmental toxins, we must become much more aware of what we put both into and onto our bodies! In addition, we must find tools that can help us sweat more – not just for cooling, but to stimulate even stronger detoxification. In this regard, infrared sauna is a very valuable and effective tool. Infrared is the medicine of the future, concludes Siw.
Text: Trine Dahlman
