Does using anti-perspirants stop me 'sweating out' harmful toxins?

No. This argument forms the basis for an email that began circulating a few years ago, and it has also appeared in some newspaper articles. However, experts in this field do not agree with this theory for two reasons:

1. The body does not sweat to 'flush out' toxins
2. Anti-perspirants do not alter the body's overall ability to sweat, to any significant degree

The overwhelming majority of toxins, around 95 per cent, are removed from the body by the liver and kidneys. The body sweats to control temperature and not to remove toxins - sweat consists almost entirely of water, with some sodium and fat, none of which are toxic. Also, sweat is produced from some 2 - 5 million sweat glands around the body, and antiperspirants only affect those in the armpit. Surprisingly, there are relatively few sweat glands in the armpit and they produce only about one per cent of the body's sweat - we are just more aware of it because the sweat can't evaporate as easily from under the arm as from other areas of the body. Antiperspirants work by dissolving in sweat to produce a thin coating on the skin that temporarily reduces underarm sweating, but does not alter the body's release of sweat to any significant degree.

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