Can diet affect body odour? Seven foods that affect body odour

You are what you eat. 

We all know those meals or drinks that we consume and we end up having a weird smell afterwards and have to brush our teeth or use our body spray to get rid of the smell. 

Well, constantly eating such meals can lead us to having a permanent body odour that we might not like necessarily. 

Some of these odours are associated with the spices used to prepare these meals. Some of our cultures have some common spices that we use that end up giving us a certain scent that’s almost distinguished by the culture you come from. 

Spices however are not the only thing that cause us to have body odor but also eating fatty, salty and junk foods can lead to having a body odor. Too much fat clogs your pores making it hard for us to excrete sweat as we are supposed to. Too much salt increases the salt levels in our sweat thus causing our sweat to have a stronger and bad scent. 

Drinking lots of water is a great way of ensuring that our bodies excrete toxins without necessarily having a bad odor. It is also important to stay clean and use a deodorant that works for you in order to mask any unpleasant body odor. After a long day or an intense workout, we expect to have a slight body odor but it should not be too bad that the people around you cannot stand it. 

Consuming a proper diet is a good way to prevent body odour.

Below are some foods that could be giving you body odour. 

Alcohol

It is easy to know a heavy drinker by their body odour. This is because they have less beneficial bacteria in their mouths as compared to nondrinkers which is necessary to maintain good breath. Alcohol is digested into acetate which is excreted through our sweat and has a sweet scent. Too much of this can result in body odour. 

Seafood

Body order related to consuming seafood has an effect on metabolism. People who suffer from trimethylaminuria develop a fishy odor after eating seafood because their bodies are not able to break down the chemical trimethylamine that is found in seafood.

Cruciferous vegetables

Cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage and kale if consumed in very high quantities can cause body odour. This is because they are rich in very high fiber which doesn’t get digested by our bodies. It ends up reacting with the bacteria in our colon to produce the gas we release.

Asparagus

Too much asparagus can result in our urine smelling like rotten cabbage. And no one wants that. It will be too uncomfortable for you to even use the guest or public washrooms. Asparagus contains sulfur properties which are excreted through our urine thus causing your urine to smell like a rotten cabbage.

Curries

Curry, cumin, onions and garlic are great culprits too. It’s very easy for someone to know that you have consumed these foods by your breath and sweat. Your body breaks down these foods and spices into sulfur compounds which is the reason behind the pungent smell.

Red meat

The amino acids in red meat leave a residue in your digestive tract during digestion. Enzymes present in your intestines break down these amino acids which mix with your skin as you sweat making your odour more intense. This is because meat is harder to digest as compared to other foods.

Processed foods or junk foods

Researchers say that since these foods increase your blood sugar levels, they contribute to your body odour. Processed foods lack chlorophyll which is available in vegetables and acts as a deodorizer and body cleanser.