Ways to Prevent Excessive Sweating

In a tropical country like the Philippines, sweating is a given. However, that doesn’t mean that we should just sit back and allow ourselves to melt in a puddle of sweat every time we step out of an air-conditioned room. Here are eight things you can do to keep from sweating too much, or to manage your excessive sweating.

Avoid spicy food
Have you ever noticed how you sweat to embarrassing levels every time you eat something extremely spicy? That’s because the spices in your food trigger the glands in your skin that also respond to heat. These glands, when stimulated, release perspiration in an effort to cool off the body. When you eat an extra amount of spices, your body reacts and shoots out sweat.
How to deal with this: Adjust your taste buds and content yourself with milder spices, especially when you’re on a date.

Stay cool
Literally. Although that may be difficult to do in a crazy hot country such as the Philippines, there’s one way to remain fresh throughout the day—use an anti-perspirant deodorant. How these deodorants work is, they act as a sort of temporary plug on your sweat glands, so that they keep the sweat from being secreted. And remember, you have sweat glands in other parts of your body, not just your armpits. Your feet, hands, back, even chest and the groin area are covered in sweat glands. If you anticipate hot weather, it wouldn’t hurt to spray or glide your anti-perspirant on these areas—just avoid your private parts.
How to deal with this: Take a bath daily. When you use your anti-perspirant deodorant, make sure the areas you apply it on are clean.

Also read: 5 Tips to Feel Confident About Your Underarms

Quit smoking
Cigarettes not only make you—and the people around you—grossly unhealthy. The nicotine in the cigarettes also makes your body release acetylcholine, a chemical that triggers sweat glands. Want to see how you can sweat less? Stop smoking!
How to deal with this: Ask a fellow smoker to quit with you. There’s strength in numbers.

Wear light, natural clothing in light, cool colors
One of the great things about the Philippines is that people can wear shorts and tank tops all year round if they want to, because sometimes, it’s just too hot to cover up. If you think you’re going to be extra hot (we mean that literally) during the day, pick an outfit that lets your body breathe. Colors will also make a difference—lighter colors let heat escape while dark colors keep the heat in.
How to deal with this: Avoid wearing clothes in nylon or polyester. Cotton and wool are natural and will let your body breathe easier.

Drink a lot of water
Your body sweats when it thinks it needs to keep itself cool. Drinking lots of water throughout the day will keep you cool; then there’s no need for the body to secrete hideous amounts of sweat to cool off.
How to deal with this: If you’re going to be away from a source of drinking water for a few hours, bring a water bottle with you.

Also read: Make Your Skin Look Younger with Retinol

Hit your ideal weight
It’s a myth that all overweight people sweat more than people who are closer to their ideal weight. But being heavier does make excessive sweating a bigger probability. The extra body fat acts as an insulator, which raises the body temperature. So to balance out its temperature, the body needs to sweat more.
How to deal with this: Exercise at least 20 minutes every day, lay off the extra desserts, and swap fruits and vegetables with those chips and chocolates.

Lay off fatty, highly processed food
When your body needs to process these kinds of food, it needs to put in extra effort because of all the chemicals these contain. And just like how you sweat more when you exert physically, you will also sweat more when your body exerts more breaking down your fast-food feast.
How to deal with this: Eat healthier. Put in more grains, fiber, and B vitamins in your diet. You won’t only sweat less, you’ll also feel more energetic.

Avoid drinking coffee
There are two reasons why coffee will make you sweat. One: coffee is hot. Heat makes you sweat more. Two: The caffeine in your coffee stimulates your central nervous system, which triggers your sweat glands.
How to deal with this: Swap coffee with water. Or salabat.