Can We Protect Our Hearts by Sweating Out Excess Sodium?

In plain language

Nine in 10 American adults eat more salt than the guidelines recommend, and the surplus stiffens blood vessels and raises blood pressure, especially during exercise, when the strain matters most. The kidneys do nearly all of the cleanup, filtering excess sodium into urine. But they are not the only exit.

Skin stores a surprising amount of sodium, and sweat carries it out. In this review, my coauthor and I ask whether activities that make you sweat (exercise, a sauna, a hot bath) could act as a second drain. A single session can shed a thousand milligrams or more, enough to offset much of a typical day’s excess. This is a hypothesis built from existing evidence, not a proven treatment. No one has yet tested whether sweating out salt protects the heart, but the physiology is real and worth investigating.