Sweating effectively detoxifies heavy metals from the body. A 2022 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health investigated how various sweating conditions affect metal excretion.

Six male and six female university students provided sweat samples after running on a treadmill or sitting in a sauna. The samples were tested for arsenic, copper, lead, mercury and nickel. While mercury levels remained constant across conditions, the other heavy metals were secreted in higher concentrations during exercise than during sauna exposure. This difference is likely due to the fact that exercise increases the body’s core temperature, drawing more metals from deeper within the body into the sweat, whereas sauna heat excretes only metals that are closer to the skin’s surface.