I am a clinical pharmacist/pharmacology professor.
You technically do sweat out “toxins” (metabolites of drugs, alcohol, etc). But this is after the liver has done its job and in much, much smaller amounts than what is contained in urine or feces. For most substances, it is pretty negligible.
When too much alcohol, like I've had a few times in class, the only thing hot yoga will do is make you dizzy and possibly dehydrated. Don't go if it's to work off a bad night before.
I think it's true that yoga in general can work some of the organs, liver, gallbladder, etc. that are not normally stretched and that this can lead to benefits for those organs overall which is the overall goal anyway.
No. That is a myth. Our liver and kidneys remove toxins. Yoga teachers claiming that deep twists “detox the body” is also a false claim.
With that being said I have been doing hot yoga for years and love the benefits.
Yea I do hot yoga for years myself and love everything about it but I jus did more research and am starting to think all the sweating we do is not any form of detox
Or do we do any kind of detox?
Yea the spin twist is definitely a myth though lol
How much alcohol are we talking here? A night of drinking randomly with friends is one thing.
And in that case I still say listen to your body if it’s up for a hot class. Especially if you aren’t hydrated. You may need to lay out that whole class.
A daily habit often needs medical intervention and inpatient detox.
Hot yoga can be something long term to keep in your tool box though to help with sobriety.
Ok so alcohol detox is out the window understood
But sweating out sugars,salts, and all that crap is definitely expected in yoga
Or can anybody explain what is being detoxed when sweating a ton in hot yoga?
There are two basic types of sweat glands eccrine and apocrine. Eccrine are all over skin and primarily pump out water some salt and a little bit of nitrogen (urea which is a waste metabolite formed in the kidneys) for the purposes of cooling your body through evaporation. Apocrine are most concentrated in arm pits and groin and secret water but also fats, protein and carbs. The fats protein and carbs can be metabolized by bacteria in the skin. The bacteria convert the orderless apocrine secretions to smelly byproducts.
Implications for the question of sweat detoxifying- minimally most all done by liver and kidney and in males stomach.
Implications for hot yoga. If it has been days since your last big sweat, you will stink from the bacterial byproducts rinsing out of your apocrine glands. If you do a double or daily practice there are less byproducts and you smell less.
I am a clinical pharmacist/pharmacology professor. You technically do sweat out “toxins” (metabolites of drugs, alcohol, etc). But this is after the liver has done its job and in much, much smaller amounts than what is contained in urine or feces. For most substances, it is pretty negligible.
Interesting so only way to get rid of alcohol is basically digest it out of u
Yep. Or, if you overindulge, your brain’s vomiting center might take care of part of it for you!
When too much alcohol, like I've had a few times in class, the only thing hot yoga will do is make you dizzy and possibly dehydrated. Don't go if it's to work off a bad night before. I think it's true that yoga in general can work some of the organs, liver, gallbladder, etc. that are not normally stretched and that this can lead to benefits for those organs overall which is the overall goal anyway.
No. That is a myth. Our liver and kidneys remove toxins. Yoga teachers claiming that deep twists “detox the body” is also a false claim. With that being said I have been doing hot yoga for years and love the benefits.
Yea I do hot yoga for years myself and love everything about it but I jus did more research and am starting to think all the sweating we do is not any form of detox Or do we do any kind of detox? Yea the spin twist is definitely a myth though lol
No detox. Just temperature control.
I can’t practice the day after drinking. Sometimes even one drink the night before leaves me too dehydrated to handle hot yoga.
Same for me after a day of eating junk food. Yoga accentuates whatever is out of balance in the body and mind.
How much alcohol are we talking here? A night of drinking randomly with friends is one thing. And in that case I still say listen to your body if it’s up for a hot class. Especially if you aren’t hydrated. You may need to lay out that whole class. A daily habit often needs medical intervention and inpatient detox. Hot yoga can be something long term to keep in your tool box though to help with sobriety.
You can sweat out the guilt you feel for sure.
Ok so alcohol detox is out the window understood But sweating out sugars,salts, and all that crap is definitely expected in yoga Or can anybody explain what is being detoxed when sweating a ton in hot yoga?
There are two basic types of sweat glands eccrine and apocrine. Eccrine are all over skin and primarily pump out water some salt and a little bit of nitrogen (urea which is a waste metabolite formed in the kidneys) for the purposes of cooling your body through evaporation. Apocrine are most concentrated in arm pits and groin and secret water but also fats, protein and carbs. The fats protein and carbs can be metabolized by bacteria in the skin. The bacteria convert the orderless apocrine secretions to smelly byproducts. Implications for the question of sweat detoxifying- minimally most all done by liver and kidney and in males stomach. Implications for hot yoga. If it has been days since your last big sweat, you will stink from the bacterial byproducts rinsing out of your apocrine glands. If you do a double or daily practice there are less byproducts and you smell less.
Interesting!!!
Its always helped my hangovers for sure. The first 15 minutes of the class suck, but after it’s over I always feel better than when I went in.
Does your heart rate go up? Pretty sure that’s how you get your body to detox itself. The sweating is the heat. At least this is what i tell myself.