ApoE4.Info

Odd question here. I have seen mention of saunas in many discussions and have done a search on this site and gotten 219 hits. Looked in the wiki but haven't found a real discussion on the benefits of saunas, sweat and the science behind it.

My reason for asking is also odd. I recently had to add a second BP medication and my GP chose lisinopril. It is working well for BP control with little side effects. The one side effect I have noticed is it makes me sweat when exerting myself much more than I normally would prior to this medication. I am a person who tolerates heat well, cold poorly and honestly rarely sweats. About a month on lisinopril, I noticed I sweat profusely when exerting myself in summer weather. This is something I do almost every day for fitness as well as added exercise, cut the grass, tear out bushes, weed, rake, etc.

It really isn't bothersome enough that I would stop this medication as it doesn't happen with my daily life in warm weather but only when I am working hard. If the real goal is to sweat for us APOE4's, it seems like this might be a positive for me, accomplish something and sweat! So that is my question , is sweating the real goal and why? Is the reason why you sweat a factor in this benefit?

Sweating does help with releasing toxins in the body. There's this interview with Dr Bredesen on that Sauna use and heavy metal excretion to prevent Alzheimer's disease | Dale Bredesen

But that's not the only/primary reason for using a sauna. This write up by Dr Rhonda Patrick on her Found my Fitness page elucidates A NUMBER of health benefits associated with saunaing (is that a word? )Sauna, it includes a number of footnoted references and links.

Motivations for APOEe4s to sauna are many. In addition to detoxification, saunas are associated with helping with cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's, longevity, inflammation, insulin sensitivity, all issues of concern to us, as well as other health benefits.

Forgot to add this study Sauna bathing is inversely associated with dementia and Alzheimer's disease in middle-aged Finnish men

I have read, but don't have a reference handy that sweat from heat (i.e. sauna) contains (or excretes) many more toxins than sweat from exercise.

Reading through the studies, the real correlation was seen with people who sauna (verb?) 5+ days per week. But yes, sweating is the goal, so I imagine anything that makes you sweat (your medication, exercise, sauna, etc) is good, even though heat and exercise seem to have different, additional benefits.

Interesting, thank you all for your replies!