A good deal of controversy on this. Interested in Hv's (and others') opinions. Appears the kidneys are responsible for most detoxification.

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jan/28/health/he-skeptic28


You sweat, but toxins likely stay

The products: We all carry the residue of modern living deep within our bodies. We get mercury from fish, pesticides from apples and polyvinyl chlorides from that "new-car smell." A 2005 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study of more than 2,000 people across the country found traces of more than 60 toxic compounds, including such nasty stuff as dioxins and uranium, in the blood and urine of participants. As the CDC noted then, nobody really knows what -- if anything -- these substances are doing to our bodies. But plenty of people are eager to get rid of them.

Worries about toxins have spawned an industry of pills, tonics, diets -- and even absorbent foot pads -- that promise to flush away, suck out or otherwise banish the poisons in our lives.

If you're willing to spend several thousand dollars on your personal detox mission, Sunlight Saunas wants to make you sweat. A lot. Its home saunas bathe users in infrared heat that can reach 140 degrees, enough to open up anyone's pores.

Touted in books such as "Detoxify or Die" and offered at some health spas, infrared saunas have become an increasingly popular option for detoxification. Sold online, the sit-down Sunlight saunas cost up to $6,000, although you can get a budget, lie-down model for a little less than $2,000.

The claims: Sunlight Saunas claims many health benefits -- including weight loss and pain relief -- but most customers are simply hoping to sweat away toxins, says company spokesman Dalton Garrison. "People are looking for new ways to detox," he says. As the company's website explains, "sweat carries toxins out of the body and pushes [them] out of the pores." According to Garrison, heavy sweating washes away pesticides and industrial chemicals but is especially effective in removing heavy metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic.

The company doesn't claim that sweating away toxins will prevent any particular illness, but Garrison says he hasn't had a cold in years.

The bottom line: Sweat does contain trace amounts of toxins, says Dr. Dee Anna Glaser, a professor of dermatology at St. Louis University and founding member of the International Hyperhidrosis Society, a medical group dedicated to the study and treatment of heavy sweating.

But, Glaser, adds, in the big picture, sweat has only one function: Cooling you down when you overheat. "Sweating for the sake of sweating has no benefits," she says. "Sweating heavily is not going to release a lot of toxins."