Sweat itself doesn’t have a bad odor, until it mixes with the bacteria on your skin. At this point, the originally odorless sweat can become a cornucopia of unpleasant scents.
Tip 1: Controlling Bacteria
The simplest way to combat body odor is to remove as much of that odor-causing bacteria from your skin. Showering daily and after any strenuous activity can help to achieve an odor free body—and make sure that when you shower, you’re thoroughly scrubbing down with soap.
Of course, you can apply an antiperspirant deodorant to help ward of sweat and odor. But if you’re looking for a more natural alternative, you can instead soak a cotton ball in apple cider vinegar and swipe it under your arms to ward of bacteria and stink.
Tip 2: Controlling Sweating
The amount of sweat your body typically produces is based on things like genetics, but there are small lifestyle changes you can do to make sure you’re not adding any extra sweat to the party.
Try avoiding spicy foods, hot beverages and caffeine, all of which make you sweat more. Some pain medications like aspirin and acetaminophen are also known to cause excessive sweating, as can hormonal imbalances and thyroid disorders.
If you’ve tried everything and still aren’t making any progress, your doctor can treat you with medications such as Botox injections that temporarily stop sweat gland production.
Tip 3: Avoid Body Odor Causing Foods
If you’ve got your sweating under control and still smell something funky, there’s a good chance it might be your diet. Foods that can contribute to body odor are:
- Veggies that are great for your health such as broccoli and cauliflower can actually leave you smelling a little off when your body breaks them down into sulfur-like compounds.
- Red meat is also a culprit of body odor. When your body breaks it down, it often stores the amino acid carnitine from the meat in your intestines, which mixes with enzymes and releases a not so sweet smell.
- Eating fewer carbs may be great for your waistline, but it’s pretty bad for your body odor. If you’re going low carb for a few days, you may notice that your body scent is off—this is because your body is breaking down fat instead of calories, which is quite the odorous process.
- Fish can often cause you to omit a “fishy” smell after eating it. Fish that contains choline, like tuna and salmon, are some of the biggest culprits.
- Fortunately, any odor caused by a food might last about six hours, so don’t give up that healthy broccoli and salmon just yet!
Tip 4: Foods that Improve Your Scent
Just as there are foods that will make you smell unfortunate, there are also those that help to improve your natural body odor.
Try adding herbs such as peppermint, parsley and rosemary to your diet. Not only do they smell wonderful, but these herbs also contain chlorophyll, which works to naturally neutralize many food and body odors before they are emitted from your skin.
