Let us set the scene that is every person’s nightmare. You are on a date in a romantic restaurant and you’re dressed to impress. As waiters walk by with picturesque food, you notice a lingering odor in your vicinity. It has the familiar notes of body odor. Wait…It is body odor and the source is your armpits. How can this be? You showered and put on deodorant before going out! Let us explain.
Certain things, perhaps unbeknownst to you, can make you stink. Remember that sweat is odorless and that the smell comes from whatever is inside your body. Body odor can be attributed to diet, poor hygiene, the material of your clothes, or even deodorant. Here are some things that make you smell.
Red Meat
A lot of people love to eat red meat. Some can’t imagine life without a grilled fillet mignon, but red meat can actually make you hungrier and cause body odor. Red meat is usually difficult for the body to digest, which means that residue gets left in the GI tract. When this residue is released through sweat, it combines with bacteria and worsens your body odor.
You Don’t Wear Cotton
A lot of people like to wear clothes that are made of spandex, leather, or other non-cotton materials. These materials make it difficult for your pores to breathe, trapping the sweat against the skin. Let your skin breath a little with some soft cotton clothes and you’ll smell better.
Fried Foods
A lot of Americans have a weakness for fried foods. We live in a fast food nation. Eating these foods can wreak havoc on your digestive system and can cause intense body odor. The oils in the food become rancid very quick and they escape the body via body odor.
Foods With Sulfur
Garlic, onions, and curry powder often add a ton of flavor with minimal calories. These foods have many antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties, but they can make you smell bad. When you sweat, the sulfur sweats out of your pores, and it isn’t a pleasant aroma. You can eat these ingredients, but don’t go overboard with them.
You Are Stressed Out
If you are stressed out you can emit some strong odors. Stress hormones contain lipids and proteins that bacteria, which naturally exist on your skin, love to feed on. The bacteria then produce a smelly waste and you end up not smelling that great.
Vincent Stevens is the senior content writer at Dherbs. As a fitness and health and wellness enthusiast, he enjoys covering a variety of topics, including the latest health, fitness, beauty, and lifestyle trends. His goal is to inform people of different ways they can improve their overall health, which aligns with Dherbs’ core values. He received his bachelor’s degree in creative writing from the University of Redlands, graduating summa cum laude. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.