Hello there.
Everyone has body odor. It is one of the things humans and animals have in common. The body odor is used by animals and by humans for different purposes:
- to recognize one another - this is why dogs bark at strangers: they don't recognize their scent.
- to select a mate - be honest: how many times have you been attracted to a person whose BO you disliked? I thought so
- to identify an ailment - sure, not all illnesses will change your BO, but some do.
However, as mean or racial as this sounds like, based on your race, you may smell more than other people. In case you didn't know, East Asian people are the ones with least body odor on the planet. Among them, Koreans take the cake.
Of course, genetics also play an important role in how a person smells like naturally. Science showed us how some inactive genes mean that the person will have minimal body odor. These inactive genes can be found in some non-East Asian people. There are many other websites out there with better, in depth information on why we have body odor.
But this is not all there is to the BO we dislike so much:
What we eat, and sometimes the medicine we take also alters our body's odor, and how strong it is. What I wanted to talk about was how my diet helped me reduce my body's bad odor.
Now, remember:
I still have unpleasant body odor and I still sweat, so my BO is NOT completely gone. It is simply reduced, meaning while I still smell, it is not as strong as bad as it used to be!
The first thing you need to know is that I have bad stomach burns when I eat certain foods, especially spicy or fried stuff. What I did was to reduce to a minimum these types of foods. That's because, let's be honest: they are yummy! You might think that this has nothing to do with how a person smells like, but it does!
Think about kimchi, pickles, or sour cabbage: they're delicious, right? But, don't they have some strong scent about them? Well, that scent is carried inside your stomach through the food itself, then it passes into your blood, and then to all of your body's cells, including the skin. The skin sweats, and that sweat contains remnants of the stinky food you had. Do your biology homework, and see that I'm right! - or use your common sense-
Secondly, all that fried oil is full of toxins: the more toxins you put in your system, the more bad body odor you release. Related to these toxins, I also gave up eating processed meats like hotdogs, sausages, and salamis. Ever checked to discover the real ingredients in these things? All I have to say is EWWW!
Then, I gave up touching and consuming garlic and onion. O_O YES! These 2 beloved aromatic plants were the ones guilty of most of my bad body odor. ;-; You know how bad your hands smell like after you peel and chop an onion bare handed? I dare you: try it out!
You probably have one question in mind right now:
How do you know garlic and onion made you smell bad? The answer is so easy, you won't believe it!
After a few months of not eating these things I randomly had them is some dishes I got from relatives. They had cooked more food than they could eat and they shared it with me. They didn't know I was 'dieting' and therefore not eating some of the ingredients. Any ways, I'm not the person to throw away foods without even trying them out.
I forgot if they had only onion (I know for sure they had onion, as my relatives never cook without it), or if there was some garlic in there too. In any case, the next day I could feel a strange scent around me, before showering. The feeling was BIZARRE, haha. It took me several minutes the culprit was my body!
Sadly, I could feel the scent even after showering! I felt it until the next day! I am not sure if by then I got used to it or it was gone. :/ What I do know is that I did throw away the left over food I received. Since then, I pay even more attention to what I eat.
Now don't get me wrong: I also don't eat onion and garlic because they're bad for my stomach. I was never OK after eating them: I would either throw up without wanting or suffer with stomach burns. I thought it was normal, because I imagined everyone was feeling that and they just wouldn't talk about it. :(
Later on, or better said, in the recent years I found out I was wrong.
In any case, reducing or eliminating foods that cause a bad body scent is not enough. You will still sweat, I know I do, and it still is unpleasant. I still need a good deodorant, though I prefer a good antiperspirant. Showering daily is something that should be a given and not even mentioned, along with making sure to wear clean clothes. Of course, this can't apply to those who consider water as a luxury.
I recently learned that Japanese people, I believe it is mostly the ladies doing this, carry wet napkins [handkerchiefs] with them every day and everywhere they go. Apparently, they use it to remove excessive sweat, refresh and cool their bodies, and to clean their hands when needed. I think my summer bag will be a bit fuller this year.
How about you: What do you do to keep nasty body odor at bay? Let me know what you think in the comments below!
©Charly Cross 2013 - present. All rights reserved.
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