Is deodorant with anti-perspirant bad for your body?

Hey, Matt:

I just received an e-mail that said deodorant with antiperspirant is bad for you to use. It said that it would clog up the sweat glands and the toxins that are trying to get out would go to other parts of the body. Is any of this true?

-- Kurt from Escondido

And I just received an e-mail that said Wells Fargo bank would only take $100,000 of your money. A few years ago I got one from somebody saying I could make a pile of dough with my ordinary home washing machine if I just bought his secret plan for wealth and early retirement.

Did your e-mail say where all those toxins would go? You'd grow an extra butt cheek or end up with feet like swim fins? First of all, sweat principally cools the body; sweat glands do not excrete evil juices. (And the juices they excrete only smell evil because they provide a great environment for skin bacteria to grow. It's the bacterial byproducts that stink, not the sweat.) Second of all, if you're worried about clogging up the machine, consider the case of poor Jonathan Capewell of Belfast, Northern Ireland. Jonathan had this thing about smelling good. He sprayed his entire body with deodorant and antiperspirant several times a day, every day for three months. Yes, Jonathan died. But Jonathan died of a heart attack brought about, the doctors said, by inhaling the propellants in the spray cans. There was no indication that stopped-up pits did him in.