Have you ever considered deodorant over antiperspirant? Quickly, a short answer for difference is deodorant protects against odor while an antiperspirant protects against sweat and odor. However, what protects your lymphatic health?
Major sweat glands are located under the arms and the groin area. Where do we hate to sweat and smell odor? That’s right… under our arms and our groin area. Let us take a minute, though, to highlight the body’s elimination process. First, our bodies are designed to sweat. It may be a little for some (seeming unnoticeable) to waterfalls for others (literally drenched). Why are our bodies designed to sweat? This is a major way our bodies eliminate toxins, naturally detoxing.
Research from Sauna Bathing and Healthy Sweating: II Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Vol.94, Issue 4 states, “… toxicologists have shown that sweating is a major means of excreting both organochlorine pesticides and a variety of toxic metals including cadmium, lead and aluminum.”
It is both healthy and natural to sweat. If we do not sweat, our bodies must then store these toxins in our tissue cells. There is nowhere else for them to go. This leads us to your lymphatic system! Your lymphatic system pulls from the interstitium space fluid and proteins (lymph) by and to the lymph nodes so the lymph nodes can clean the lymph and dump it back into the heart for the body to eliminate through urinating. The question is, does not allowing your body to sweat add to toxic overload for your lymphatic system? I am not going to answer this… I am leaving this as food for thought. But let me point out… you have major lymph nodes under your arms (axillary lymph nodes) and in your groin area (inguinal lymph nodes) which are located in proximity to breasts and female genitalia. It is important for women to protect the health of these areas.
I know we do not like to see sweat stains or smell odor, yet these two things are indicators of body health! Instead of not wanting to experience either, why not look at them through a different lense? Consider your body’s health… consider learning what these mean for your body’s health so you can better navigate and understand your health conditions. This, in turn, allows you to advocate for your health with health professionals. No one knows your body better than you…
Toxins are an issue for the body. We build up toxins in our bodies through foods we eat, being/living in a state of stress, not breathing in good air, and by being over sedentary and not exercising correctly. These toxins need to be released from out bodies through sweating… a very natural detoxification process. Plus, the odor can indicate quality of health. What are you eating to fuel your body? Are you dehydrated? Do you experience persisting headaches? When have you experienced a good bowl movement? How are your menstrual cycles? Is your stress being reduced through exercise? Are you walking enough (which is how lymph nodes are pumped as there is no internal pump for the lymphatic system)?
Here is something you can consider to help detox your underarms area at home.
- dry brush your underarm area
- create a detox paste from a product with bentonite clay as the main ingredient and mix it with a little bit of apple cider vinegar…apply to your underarms, even groin area, and leave for up to 10 minutes (the apple cider vinegar can make feel a bit tingly, fyi). Repeat weekly or 2x week.
- wear loose fitting, cotton clothing allowing your skin to breath
- let your armpits breath using nothing!
Sweat & odors. Be curious. Examine your lifestyle. Figure out what can and will work for you. Small steps are perfect! Consider changing from a chemical based antiperspirant to a natural-based deodorant when possible as a first step so your body can begin to eliminate toxins in a very natural and healthy way by sweating.
Show your lymphatic system some love!
Eiser A. Sauna bathing and healthy sweating: II. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 2019;94(4):727.
doi:10.1016/j.mayocp.2018.12.021