Five reasons why you might be smelling like chang’aa

 Woman holding her nose Photo: Courtesy

The term BO (body odour) is used frequently but what causes it?

Stress They are two main types of sweat: the type that occurs when you work out and the type that occurs when it's hot outside. Both these types of sweat are composed mostly of water and electrolytes. Stress sweat, the third type, has very little water and more bacteria, which feeds on your fats and proteins. It's the by-product of that feeding that cause the odour.

Genetics Sweaty feet can be genetic and we do not help the situation by wearing socks and closed shoes. All you have done is create a warm home for bacteria, which produces smelly sulphur.

Bras Not washing your favourite bra frequently? That lacy bra is probably made of odour trapping fabrics and it touches your skin in more than one sweat-prone place.

You probably need to wash it more often than you think, and neglecting to do so will cause oduor.

Foods I'm sure you have heard time and time again that the smell of garlic and onions, once broken down in the blood stream, will come out through your mouth, sweat and urine. Now those aren't just the only foods. There's also broccoli, Brussels sprouts and other members of the cruciferous family that also contain a smelly compound.

Diabetes Without enough insulin, the body starts to break down fat for fuel, which leads to a build-up of ketones (chemicals that the body creates when it breaks down fat to use for energy) in the body.

That build-up may produce a change in body odour. Some people also report a similar change in body oduor when switching to a diet heavy in meat and low in carbs.

A low-carb diet is known to impact the smell of your breath.