The old saying “you are what you eat” rings true when it comes to your health. Diets filled with chemicals, and unnatural ingredients can lead to health issues. Recent studies have also shown that diets high in red meats, can affect body odor. The relationship between food and body odor is simply a reflection of what you put in your body.
Foods that cause body odor, including bad breath, are commonly caused by red meat. Researchers collected questionnaires from 500,000 people, including both men and women detailing diet and other habits. Results showed that the natural body odors emitted by non-meat eaters were “significantly more attractive, more pleasant and less intense.” Alcohol and Caffeine from coffee, tea and soda habits can add cause excessive sweating. Large amounts of caffeine can cause a variety of side effects, and while keeping your consumption between 200 and 300 mg daily, consuming more than 500 mg a day can increase side effects, including headaches, lack of energy, and excessive sweating.
Processed foods that contain high amounts of salt, sugar and hydrogenated oils can cause stomach irritation and trigger the production of body odor. Diets high in processed foods can also cause your liver to go into overdrive in an attempt to rid your body of the toxins contained in processed. This can turn into a body odor problem, which starts in your digestive system.
Odor friendly foods from plant-based diets provide high amounts of chlorophyll, and other phytonutrients that help cleanse and deodorize your body. The following foods can help reduce even strong body odors:
Parsley – This super-food is a blood purifier, and although it’s most commonly used as a garnish in American cuisine, this herb has powerful healing and purifying abilities. Parsley offers large amounts of chlorophyll which gives it the dark green color. This compound helps alkalize your body, and purify blood while it aids in the production of new red blood cells.
Celery – A popular diuretic, has the ability to fight odor by eliminating toxins in your body. Not only that, it also contains a balance of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. This crunchy veggie also stimulates the liver, and acts as a digestive aid to help eliminate the toxins that cause body odor.
Aromatic Herbs – Sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, cilantro, lavender, mint and other herbs have been used for centuries for cooking and medicinal use. The essential oils contained in these herbs are responsible for their pleasant aromas. These wonderful smells add flavor to any dish, and the therapeutic benefits extend to the odor that comes from your body.
Limes – Citrus fruits provide a variety of health benefits due to their high antioxidant capacity. But another benefit of lime juice specifically, is that it can help reduce body odor. Its natural disinfectant and antibiotic abilities help remove body odor. Diets rich in fruits and vegetables generally will help reduce body odors. Some people eat strict diets that only include fruits, vegetables, and legumes. One diet, called the “Fruitarian Diet” is an example. Watch this short video to learn about how the fruitarian diet can help reduce body odor from the inside out. Be sure to leave a comment and let us know your thoughts and on body odor and diet.
Top 15 Foods That Make You Smell Bad
Have you ever noticed how some people don’t smell bad even if they’re sweating? It’s because they eat clean foods and avoid those that cause odors,here are the top foods that make us smell bad.
Body odor is an extremely sensitive issue for many of us. We spend hundreds of dollars on perfumes and deodorants so that we can smell better and prevent sweating. But we fail to understand that we’re on the wrong track by “preventing sweating” which is an important function of the body.
Sweating is absolutely necessary in order to cool your body and expel toxins from your system, and when you use deodorants to block your pores, you’re inviting ill-health and disease. Instead of focusing on artificial ways to reduce body odor, look to the foods you eat to smell good and stay fresh as a daisy all day long.
To help you do this, here’s a list of foods to avoid and why they make you smell bad.
Red meat:
It is difficult to digest and often lies stagnant in your digestive tract. When this undigested food putrefies, it releases toxins and foul-smelling gases. This in turn is ejected as flatulence and sweat that reeks.
Processed and junk food:
Any food that is too rich and difficult for your body to digest, any food that is processed and refined which contains too much sugar, white flour, hydrogenated oils and other processing agents, and food that is labeled as “junk” rot in your intestines and produces a foul odor in your breath and through your sweat.
Foods with pungent (strong-smelling) ingredients (used in large amounts):
Garlic and other spices not only cause bad breath, they’re also responsible for body odour because they produce sulfurous gases when digested, which in turn are absorbed into the blood stream and released through your lungs and pores.
Foods that are too fibrous:
If you eat too much of foods that contain soluble fiber (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and legumes), gases like hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane are released when they get digested in your large intestine. When these exit your body by way of flatulence, you tend to wish you were alone.
A diet that is low in fiber:
The opposite is also true – fiber is good for digestion and when your diet is poor in fiber, the residual food in your intestine causes the formation of gases like methane, leading to flatulence and belching.
Foods eaten in a hurry:
Any food eaten too fast causes you to swallow too much air (a mixture of oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen). When this is expelled from your body in a burp, you can bet you don’t smell like roses.
A diet that is low in carbohydrates:
You’ve always believed that carbs are the villains of your weight loss program, but when it comes to body odor, these energy-laden foods save the day. When you limit your carb intake, you automatically take in more proteins; this starts burning your body’s fat stores for energy, and this releases ketones into your bloodstream, which in turn makes your breath smell foul.
Dairy products: While they’re good for health in moderation, they tend to cause bad breath because they’re high in proteins that the bacteria in your stomach break down to create volatile sulfur compounds like hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan which smell foul.
Drinking liquids through a straw: This applies to sodas and colas and other drinks that are aerated as well – when you gulp down any drink through or straw or drink any liquid that has gas in it, you tend to burp because of the buildup of gases in your stomach. And depending on what else is in your stomach, your breath and surroundings reek accordingly.
Chewing gum: You may chew gum for a variety of reasons – to get rid of a nicotine habit, to make your breath smell better (how ironic), or just to while away the time. But when you choose the sugar-free kind, your body does not completely digest the low calorie sweeteners like sorbitol, and when bacteria acts upon it in your intestine, it causes a buildup of gas which leads to burping and flatulence.
Beans and legumes: Many kinds of beans cause gas because they contain a sugar called oligosaccharide, and this in turn causes flatulence and burping which makes you smell bad.
Foods rich in choline: Foods like egg and liver are rich in choline which is not easily digestible; this causes gases to accumulate and generates a foul body odor.
Fried and baked foods: They contain fats and oils that become rancid with the passage of time, and this in turn leads to poor digestion and excessive belching and flatulence.
Coffee: Coffee causes bad breath because the acidity in this beverage is much higher than that of human saliva.
Alcohol: You know you reek the morning after a night out on the town, simply because you’ve had too much to drink. Alcohol makes your sweat and your breath smell really bad, so avoid it if you want to stay clean and fresh.
Change Your Diet
Some foods and spices may cause bad odors to exude through your pores after you eat them. This includes onions and garlic, as well as caffeinated drinks, according to the Mayo Clinic. Changing your diet to take out these items may improve your general body odor.
Consider A Detox
When body odor is indicative of a problem from within, detoxifying your body is the answer. There are a variety of cleansing routines that may be appropriate and regularly incorporating detox foods may help. Regular sessions in an infrared sauna are also known to encourage the removal of toxic impurities through the skin.
Check Your Digestion and Gut Health
About 7% of people complaining of body odor do not completely digest particular foods because of enzyme deficiencies or digestive problems. So for regular support, persons with body odor should take a probiotic supplement, as this will help boost intestinal flora quality. Taking digestive enzymes with your meals may also be of benefit. Apple cider vinegar can also be effective in aiding digestion.
