What is excess body heat and how is it related to your skin?
You may not have heard about this before but your body’s excess heat could be the hidden cause for your skin issues.
The body heat effects on skin is one of the least discussed aspects of skin problems. Its impact, nevertheless, may be greater than anyone could have ever imagined.
I’ve always had excess body heat problems throughout my teenage. And as a result, I had to face a lot of skin problems including acne, enlarged pores, oily skin, hair fall, and many more.
In this article, I will be sharing with you some of the extremely effective ways of balancing your body heat that actually worked for me and can be a game changer for you too. So let’s get started.
In human body, heat is regulated to provide a normal temperature of 98.6° F. The body generates heat through a variety of physiological functions, such as cellular metabolism, digestion, and muscle action.
However, a state may arise where the body starts absorbing excessive heat, which may lead to increased body temperature. This state is usually termed hypothermia or heat stress.
The natural tendency of human body is such that whenever heat gets built up, it tries to lose the excess heat by transferring it to the skin.
The skin regulates the body temperature by radiating the heat to the surroundings. This is the principal reason why body heat is directly concerned with skin issues.
Causes of Excess Body Heat
There are several possible causes of excess body heat. Some of them are:
Lack of Fluid in the body
Inadequate fluid intake can impair the body’s ability to regulate temperature through sweating. This can result in an increase in body temperature, especially in hot conditions or during physical activity.
Environment
The body heat produced by exposure to hot, humid climatic conditions might increase. The body’s capacity to cool down can be hampered by extreme heat, glaring sunlight, and a lack of air, which raises the core temperature.
Exercise
Performing rigorous physical activity increases metabolic rate and causes the body to produce heat.
More heat is produced when the body works harder; if this heat output exceeds the body’s cooling capabilities, excess body heat may result.
Medical Conditions
Certain medical conditions such as neurological disorders, leukemia, heart stroke, thyroid disorder, arthritis, certain drug consumption, etc can also be the cause of overheating body.
Food and Drink
Oily and spicy foods, caffeine, and alcohol can also contribute to body heat. They can temporarily raise body temperature by increasing metabolism and triggering a warming sensation.
Hereditary
Hereditary is also one of the major reasons why many people have excess body heat issues.
Genetic factors can influence your basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is the rate at which your body burns calories at rest. A higher BMR can lead to increased heat production, which might contribute to a feeling of excess body heat.
Menopause
Women going through menopause may experience hot flashes, which are sudden, intense feelings of heat and sweating, often accompanied by an increase in body temperature.
How to know if your body produces excess heat?
Excess body heat is usually accompanied by a bunch of skin problems. The symptoms on skin may vary slightly from person to person.
You may have excess body heat problem if you have following skin issues:
- Skin redness
- Skin inflammation and irritation
- Hair Loss
- Enlarged pores
- Skin pigmentation
- Oily skin
- Experience a lot of sweat
- Dry and Flaky Skin
- Heat Rashes
One of the most noticeable signs of elevated body heat is flushed or red skin, especially on areas like cheeks and around your nose. This occurs because increased blood flow to the skin’s surface helps dissipate heat.
Sweating is the body’s natural mechanism to cool down when it’s too hot. Excess body heat can lead to profuse sweating, and the skin may feel moist or wet.
Another quite noticeable sign is heat rashes. It presents as tiny, red bumps on the skin’s surface and can be accompanied by itching or discomfort. The face, chest, and back areas are where these are most apparent.
Remedies of excess body heat
Now let’s talk about some of the simple and highly effective methods that will help the body naturally cool down and address these issues at their source.
Coconut Water
The best that you can do to cool down an overheating body is to drink coconut water regularly.
It naturally has cooling properties and is perfect to hydrate and reenergize your body. It is rich in enzymes, amino acids, vitamin C, omega-3 fatty acids, and minerals including magnesium and potassium.
Coconut water is a fantastic way to hydrate because it is also rich in natural electrolytes.
A pro tip regarding coconut water intake is that the left-out Malai can be applied on the face to soothe and moisturize the face.
Coconut water is therefore more than simply a drink for you if you have skin problems.
Cold Foot Bath
A nice and cold foot bath is an excellent way to reduce body heat and its effects.
Cold water can provide an immediate cooling sensation. As the feet are exposed to cold water, they can absorb some of the excess heat from the body, helping to bring your overall body temperature down.
The feet are also rich in nerve endings and are key points in the body’s thermoregulatory system. Cooling the feet can help reduce metabolic heat production and increase peripheral blood flow to promote heat dissipation.
Just dip your foot in cold water every day for about 10 minutes before going to bed. This will help significantly to balance the body temperature. This is something that I highly recommend based on my personal experience.
Butter Milk
Buttermilk can help cool the body, as it has a cooling effect on the digestive system.
Buttermilk has soothing properties that help to alleviate symptoms of heat exhaustion or heat stress. It is lighter, easily digestible, and rich in water content as well. Also, the probiotics present in buttermilk aid digestion which further helps in reducing heat release during digestion.
Apart from that, it is also rich in other nutrients such as calcium, vitamin A, vitamin D, potassium, and proteins.
Drink a glass of buttermilk with coriander and mint leaves at night after meal for better effect.
Drink Water from a Clay Pot
I don’t think many of you would have expected this to be on this list but drinking water from an earthen port is arguably the best way of drinking water.
This traditional way of drinking water from clay pots increases metabolism resulting in lesser heat release during the process.
Its alkaline property also maintains the pH level of the body. The microscopic pores on the clay pot naturally cool the water through air circulation, thus making it a better alternative to refrigerated water.
Consume Hydrating Foods
The main reason why you should remain hydrated to reduce excess body heat is to have enough fluid for sweating. The evaporation of sweat causes the skin to cool down which consequently reduces body temperature.
Start eating cucumber daily as it not only hydrates your skin but also moisturizes it and reduces skin irritation. Nuts and seeds, sweet potato, watermelon, and orange are other great foods for skin hydration.
Carrots, broccoli, and spinach are also really good food for overall skin health.
Excessive body heat often causes excess thirst. And many people drink some sort of cold drink to satisfy their thirst.
This is a common yet huge mistake as carbonated drinks make you lose water, thus reducing the body’s ability to cool down. This can further increase its effects on the skin. So, never consider cold drinks as a source of hydration.
Also Read: 7 Best Fruits for Skin Health
Stay Away from Mid-Day Sun
Spending too much time in the sun, especially during peak mid-day can significantly increase your body temperature.
Your body can’t get cool enough and may sweat too much fluid which can cause dehydration. So, one should always try to avoid mid-day sun and use an umbrella while going out.
Warm Shower
Yes, you heard that right. Warm showers are actually beneficiary when it comes to reducing body temperature. The blood flow to the skin is very important in controlling internal body temperature.
Heat is preserved in the body when blood flow to the skin is reduced, and heat is radiated by the skin to the environment when blood flow to the skin is raised.
So, the key is to have increased blood flow to the skin so that excess heat is released from the body.
When we have a cold shower, the cool sensation reduces the blood flow to the skin. This is the exact reason why we get frostbite in the cold season due to poor blood flow.
So, a warm shower will increase the blood flow to the skin, increasing the heat loss from the body and hence reducing the overall body temperature.
Aloe Vera
Aloe Vera is a natural cooling agent. When it comes to lowering the effect of body heat both inside and outward, it has a remarkable effect. For ages, Aloe has been used to heal and calm the skin.
There are multiple ways of taking benefits from Aloe Vera. You can apply its gel directly to the skin for a cooling effect. You can also mix its gel with water and drink it.
However, the best practice could be to blend fresh aloe leaves with a little water and drink it straight. It does wonders in any way.
Few More Tips…
Besides these, you can also try doing Sitali Breath regularly. It is a breathing technique that has a cooling effect on your body and mind.
You can also take lemon water on a daily basis. Adding peppermint to it makes it extra beneficial.
Having milk with honey is another great way of cooling your body. And avoid adding ice to your juice or any other beverages as the cool sensation actually promotes your body to produce more heat to maintain body equilibrium.
A key point is that the problem of excess body heat is more likely to happen during summer. The body heat symptoms on the skin also become more severe during that period. There is a reason for that.
The higher surrounding temperature doesn’t let the skin radiate its heat to the surrounding, thus easily causing the excess heat to accumulate on the skin. This is why many people suffer severe skin problems mainly during summer.
So if possible, try to stay under controlled temperature during summer.
