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Will Drinking Water & Exercising Take Waste Out of Your Muscles?

Toxins come from both naturally occurring processes of metabolism, as well as manmade substances in the environment. Although water and exercise can’t remove every toxic substance, hydration and activity do help cleanse the body and improve quality of life. Human bodies are about 60 percent water, and a person can only survive three days without it. One reason water is so important is its role in waste removal. Exercise increases fluid needs because of sweat, but it also aids water in its waste removal responsibilities.

  1. Water and Toxins

    • Once inside the body, toxins like to cozy up in tissues. Both muscle tissue and fat tissue are used during exercise and release toxins into the blood that may otherwise stay put. Water exists in the body as part of blood, as well as inside cells and between cells. These fluids act as transport mediums for both nutrients and toxins. Water is the reason blood flows with nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and then carries byproducts, waste and toxins away from the cells.

    Exercise and Toxin Release

    • As heart rate increases from activity, it also increases the speed at which blood flows through the body, and waste is transported from tissues faster than at rest. Blood flows to the kidneys, where some wastes are removed through urine. In the skin, water moves some nutrients and toxins out of the body through sweat. Other toxins move from the blood to the lymphatic system, where they are neutralized and pathogens are destroyed. Additionally, hydration and exercise increase regularity of bowel movement through the gastrointestinal tract, where the body also deposits some of its waste.

    Exercise and the Immune System

    • In addition to removal of toxins, exercise increases the body’s defenses against these and other harmful molecules. For example, exercise increases antioxidant activity to neutralize free radicals. Free radicals occur naturally in the body but can cause problems if not neutralized. They come from metabolism, disease and sometimes are created by things in the environment. Just like exercise increases the flow of blood, it also increases the flow of lymph through the body, which carries important defenses. Lymph pulls pathogens and toxins from the blood into its own system because it contains lots of immune cells. These cells kill viruses, bacteria, cancer cells and debris.

    Using Exercise to Remove Toxins

    • While certain types of exercise reap specific fitness benefits, only moderate intensity exercise enhances the body’s ability to remove toxins. Sixty minutes of low to moderate intensity exercise is recommended. High intensity exercise may increase the amount of naturally produced toxins, one of which is ammonia, a byproduct of the energy system for high intensity exercise. The build-up of exercise-induced toxins cause fatigue and soreness, and may be to blame for the symptoms of overtraining -- headache, nausea, fatigue. Low intensity recovery days are often used after high intensity training days to remove ammonia. However, this doesn’t mean you should avoid high intensity exercise. According to a study published in the June 2012 issue of the "Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition," the increased ammonia caused by exercise has not been shown to harm health. This same study demonstrated the immune system benefits of exercise occur only if ammonia is allowed to increase from exercise. Because everyone has different levels of fitness, the best tell is your own body and fitness tolerance.

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