Need some space? Well if you smell like a skunk then automatically you are going to be granted your desire. Body odour is something that can hamper one’s social life, making the individual feeling conscious and insecure in public. There are numerous debates as to what causes body odour and scientist till date are still doing research in this field to pin-point the culprit, but according to Dr. Rosemary Lester, Victoria’s chief health officer, “Body smells are caused by a number of factors working in combination, these include chemicals in sweat, wastes excreted through the skin, the actions of bacteria that live on the skin, and unwashed clothes.” Needless to say, but this very fact that can be a humiliating factor for those suffering from body odour and it has spurred a multi-billion dollar industry in the form of deodorants and perfumes in order to counter this vexatious problem. Putting perfumes aside, let’s get to the root of the problem and see if one can save himself/herself from this embarrassment just by eating right and avoiding the foods that are popularly known to emit odour through sweat pores and one’s breath. Here are some foods that cause body odour.
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1. Spicy & Piquant Foods
It is imperative that one has a balanced meal with greens as well as spices concocted to perfection, as spicy ingredients as well as that of garlic and onions increases the Sulphur in one’s body during digestion thus causing a strong smell which is emitted through sweat pores. Eating healthy ingredients such as greens and citrus fruits can help counter the problem.
2. Alcohol
This is no stranger when it comes to bad odour as anyone who has had a drink too many can stand witness to the fact that alcohol does make one’s breath and body smell. When consumed in excess quantities, the body treats alcohol as a toxin and breaks it down into acetic acid. Only 90% is manages to be broken down and the rest is emitted through urine and sweat. Bad breath is caused due to the reaction of alcohol with one’s digestive juices and the alcohol that intoxicates the individual’s blood is emitted through sweat, making one smell like a bar that has the essence of puke.
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3. Red Meat
It is common to feel sluggish after a nice sizzling steak and this is because red meat as everyone knows is heaty and difficult to digest. Since the meat is difficult to digest and breakdown, the body automatically works harder to get the job done and this results in one sweating and feeling heated up. The amino acids leave a residue while digestion and the reaction with the digestive enzymes gets released through one’s sweat pores resulting in a piquant odour that would strike anyone who hasn’t shared that meal with you.
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4. Fish
Something smells fishy? It could be you. Let’s put aside the benefits of consuming fish, while being well aware of the benefits of Omega-3 fatty-acids in fish that ward off cardiovascular diseases and improve brain functioning, choline- which is a member of the B-complex vitamin is the crook in accrediting you with that repelling fish smell. It is known that people who indulge in fish especially the types such as tuna and salmon that are high with choline can smell up to a day like a fish, which is emitted as the individual perspires.
5. Cruciferous Vegetables
Cabbage, Broccoli, cauliflower, we just can’t live without them if we are following a healthy diet, but these veggie unfortunately too contribute to body odour. Like the spicy ingredients, these veggies too contain Sulphur which when mixed with digestive enzymes smell like rancid butter when sweated out. An individual can start emitting odour within the hour of consuming these veggies and although it is not advisable to leave these vegetables out of your diet as they are healthy, a simple way to combat this issue is to soak the veggies in water with salt for a little while, this method helps in removing all the odour-emitting contents from it and leaves the essential nutrients intact in the veggies.
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6. Junk Food
Most junk food is a concoction of processed ingredients and that being said, processed food has a high level of refined sugar and the carbohydrates present in them increase the glucose or sugar levels in the blood (glycemic index). This is one of the main reasons that cause body odor, and the residue left by junk food when mixed with the bacteria on the skin produces a pungent odour that will leave you standing alone even in a bustling railway station.
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7. Low-Carb Diets
We just discussed in the above point that high-carb diets influence one’s body odour, but the same can be with low-carb diets or weight-loss diets. When the body isn’t fed with sufficient nutrients, it starts to burn the fat and it results in most people emitting an alkaline (nail polish remover) odour. Hence having low-carb diets or fasting can get you smelling bad too.
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8. Dairy Products
These proteinaceous substances take longer to digest and excess of them can produce hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan in the body and this when perspired and mixed with the bacteria on the sweat starts to emit a foul smell.
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In order to resolve the problem of body odour that could be perpetual in some cases depending on the body’s chemistry, one should resort to eating more greens such as spinach and so on that help absorb these chemicals resulting in body odour, should maintain proper body hygiene by washing regularly the vital body parts that emit odour. Another way is to undergo a complete detox and if one still faces such problems even after maintaining good body hygiene it is advisable to check your digestion and gut health as some people might suffer from enzyme deficiencies or digestive problems.
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