You've probably come to read this post because you think you smell bad. Let's just get this out of the way - body odour is normal! When bacteria mix with sweat, there is a distinct scent. Some days you may notice it's worse than other days - more often than not it's probably stress but there are other factors. Genetics, to a small degree, play a role, age, hormones and nutrition all impact your body odour.
Don't sweat it because sweating is an important part of the body's detoxification system and it helps your body cool down.
Blocking those armpit sweat ducts with aluminum antiperspirant is not the answer. Your arm pits are not a one-way street.
Meaning, whatever you put on your skin can get absorbed into the skin, especially if there are penetration enhancers in the product like propylene glycol very common in deodorants and antiperspirants.
The Biochemistry of Human Body Odour
In other words, what causes your stinky pits? You have sweat glands all over your body. There are two main kinds called eccrine and apocrine. Your armpits are densely populated with apocrine glands and what differentiates them are that they are found in areas with a lot of hair follicles like the armpit and groin.
When you sweat these glands secrete a chemical mixture containing fats, steroids and proteins. These secretions do not smell but once they come into contact with bacteria they serve as ideal growth medium and can develop into a pungent body odour (BO).
In simple terms, it's the bacteria on your pits that mixes with the sweat that makes you smell. Don't blame the sweat!
I totally get it though, no one wants to smell bad. There are some factors you can modify so you smell better.
If you are wondering if certain fabrics make you smell worse or smell more, you're right - they do. Petroleum based synthetic fabrics such as polyester are great at trapping your pit stink. Research shows that synthetic fibers hold on to more chemicals, acids and bacteria that are associated with body odour. To make matters worse, these odours build up in fabric over time and are harder to wash away than natural fabrics.
Solution: Wear natural and breathable fabrics such as cotton, linen, bamboo or wool. Learn more about safe and eco-clothing in this episode of the JH podcast.
2. Avoid Foods That Make You Smell
What you eat directly affects your body odour. I’m sure you’ve experienced this first hand after a night of drinking too much alcohol or eating French onion soup. Alcohol, once absorbed is metabolized into acetic acid and then released through your pores which smells.
As delicious as they are, pungent foods like onions and garlic can make your body odour pungent temporarily. I wouldn't stop eating healthy strong smelling foods because there are natural antimicrobial components of foods such as is the case with garlic, that may help your body produce less odour in the long run.
Processed foods can make you smell bad. Foods such a refined sugars and grains (bread, cereal, white pasta), junk food and the like feed the bad bacteria in the gut and do nothing to nourish the gut microbiome. They affect your level of body odour because once they are broken down into smaller compounds that circulate in the bloodstream, they slowly make their way to your pores where they come out through your sweat, (or breath or urine) and cause odour. They also may impact your body odour due to their higher glycemic index.
Processed foods lack the important molecule chlorophyll, which helps aromatize any bad smell in the body. It's a natural internal deodorizer.
Solution: Pay attention to what you eat and cut back on foods that give you really bad BO.
3. Eat Foods that are Natural Deodorizers
The chlorophyll water craze has been going strong on TikTok for a couple of years now. Chlorophyll is considered a natural deodorizer but this is based on a study from the 1950s and anecdotal evidence - not that it should be discounted. It's true that chlorophyll is a natural antimicrobial and antifungal and we know that bacteria and fungus (think candida in the gut or mouth) do make you smelly. Before you start chugging chlorophyll water, I think a better idea is to eat foods rich in chlorophyll - more budget friendly too.
Interestingly, this study showed that men who ate more fruits and vegetables had a more attractive smell to women than those who didn't. The study also claims that fat, meat, egg and tofu intake were tied to pleasant-smelling sweat and a carb-rich diet was linked to a more intense, less-pleasant sweat smell.
Solution: Eat more green foods including spinach, arugla, seaweed, sprouts, spirulina, basil, hemp hearts, chorella, Brussels sprouts and broccoli.
You no doubt have noticed that you smell worse when you're really stressed out. This isn't in your head. Stress causes us to sweat more and our sweat glands to produce sweat that is higher in protein and fat molecules. Bacteria thrive on this biochemical makeup of your sweat which means you'll smell more because recall earlier that sweat plus bacteria is what forms body odour.
Solution: Find ways to manage stress. Some great stress-busting activities are exercise (which boosts endorphins and helps your body to be more equipped to deal with stressful situations - cool how that works!), walking in nature (boosts serotonin) and yoga or meditation (stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system).
5. Skip the Antiperspirants
Antiperspirants do a great job at temporarily reducing body odour from your armpits but this comes at cost to the body. They work because aluminum clogs the sweat ducts. If you don't produce sweat, you don't have this mixture of bacteria and sweat creating BO. However, if you block these ducts, you are blocking a detoxification pathway. This is especially problematic because aluminum can be absorbed into the body.
Solution: Use a natural deodorant that contains natural antibacterial plant botanicals. While it won't stop you from sweating (this is a good thing), it can help control the odour caused by bacteria mixing with your sweat.
6. Wash your Body Regularly and your Clothes
Sorry to be captain obvious here, but personal hygiene is paramount. This means washing your armpits and clothes regularly especially if you're using synthetic fabrics which can really retain the scent.
I hope this information helps you if you feel your body odour is getting in the way of you living your life to the fullest. For ways to fight bad breath naturally, check out this post.
Wishing you pleasant smelling days ahead!
Joy xo
Great suggestions, Joy! Thank you!
ReplyGlad you found this info useful!