Sweat Your AS Off

Sweat, it’s a good thing, right? Trainers are always talking about working up a sweat. When someone doesn’t think you are trying hard enough, they comment that you are "barely breaking a sweat."

Or is sweat a bad thing? After all, if something is easy, you might say “No sweat!” Or, when someone thinks you are lying, they sometimes comment, “You are sweating buckets”.

So, is sweat good or bad? And what does it have to do with health and ankylosing spondylitis?

Let’s take a closer look at perspiration. (Gross!)

Don't you know that you're toxic?

I borrowed a line from Britney, and now that song is stuck in your head. You’re welcome. But, 90’s pop aside, we are quite toxic.

Filled with toxins, that is. And, no, I am not going to try to convince you all to get on board with my new “clean eating” diet plan. I am so far away from being involved with anything like that.

But, the fact remains, our bodies are like factories, and we are filled with the resulting toxic waste. If the EPA could shut us down, they would. The human body is gross!

When I first started seriously treating my Lyme Disease, my doctor asked me if I could afford an infrared sauna because some Lyme patients find relief after using a sauna to detox the body. Unfortunately, my answer was no.

But, AS isn’t bacterial

No, ankylosing spondylitis and axial spondyloarthritis are not bacterial or viral illnesses, this is true. However, your brand of spondylitis is not the only thing causing you trouble.

It could be comorbidities, your environment, and, yes, even your food that can lead to you not feeling tip-top.

As computer programmers have said, GiGo: “Garbage in. Garbage out”. If you put in bad programming, you are going to end up with a bad result. If you fill up with processed foods, sugar, dairy, and Red Dye #5, you are going to end up with a lot of bodily garbage.

How do you get rid of all this garbage?

Flush it!

There are a number of ways to get garbage out of your system. You know very well what they are, so I really hope you aren’t expecting me to go into details about every method.

But, transfer of liquids from out of the body, might be a good way to summarize.

And then as I tell my students, don’t forget to flush. Your toxins, waste, and bacteria are all accumulating in your body making you sick. Just add some water and flush it all away.

Yes, there is a reason why you are supposed to drink half your weight in water.

How much water?!

*Tire Screech*

Wait, let me explain! I am NOT saying if you are 150 lbs, you need to drink 75 lbs of water! Please don’t do that!

What I am saying is, if you are 150 lbs, you should drink at least 75 oz of water. And no, coffee does not count as “water”. (I asked my doctor, he told me no, and then my wife gave me a “told you so” look...it was a whole thing) So, 200 lbs = 100 oz of water.

Half your weight in water is technically more than you need to live, so all the excess is used to detox your body clean of that waste that only adds to your misery. Anything that has laid claim to your digestive and renal systems goes out one way, and, the rest is transferred out of your skin.

Yes, I am talking about sweat! See, I told you I was going to finally get back to the topic I started with!

Don't sweat it—actually, do!

After drinking water (YES, WATER!) raise your body temperature and let your hypothalamus go to work.

Ride a bike, go for a walk, get in a sauna, or just lay out in the sun (with sunscreen). Just get those sweat glands working, and start pumping out all the waste your body has accumulated.

Do it in moderation, and most of all, listen to your body and your doctor. With less of what makes you feel bad, you can only start to feel better.

I used to say I have ankylosing spondylitis with a twist of Lyme. When I started taking measures to kill the bacteria and detox the waste, I discovered I might actually have Lyme with a sprinkle of ankylosing spondylitis.

When treating your spondylitis, you don’t want to be fighting two battles (or more) at once. Drink some water, and break a sweat.

Give your AS your full attention.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, I just talk to them a lot and they tell me things. What works for me, might not be your best method of treatment. Talk to a medical professional before trying something new.