Sometimes, it is not enough to just use excellent antiperspirants and deodorants. You will be surprised by some of the reasons why you have body odor.
Bacterial Build-up in Clothes and Underwear Causes Body Odor
Underwear and clothes touch your skin in several areas – across the back, underneath your arms, in-between your breasts and beneath your chest. All these areas tend to sweat a lot.
Your clothes and underwear may be made of fabric that does not allow sweat to evaporate. The trapped moisture causes fungus and bacteria to grow. This is particularly true when you fail to wash your underwear/clothes after the first wear. The bacterial buildup on your clothes and underwear causes body odor.
Make it a practice to wash your underwear and clothes after you wear them. Do not use the same bra twice or thrice in a row without washing it. You are likely to have body odor from the accumulation of odor, oils, and bacteria.
Stress and Anxiety Cause Body Odor
Not all types of sweat are alike.
You sweat when you exercise. You sweat when the weather is hot. Sweat that is a result of physical exercise or the scorching weather is mostly made up of water and some electrolytes. It does not smell bad.
You sweat when you are under great stress. When you have a difficult sales presentation to make, when your car breaks down when you have to get to an important meeting with your boss, when you have an intense quarrel with your loved one – you tend to sweat profusely. Sweat is a natural reaction to stressful and difficult situations.
Stress sweat is the worst kind of sweat. It is a product of the apocrine glands – glands found in the genital area and the armpit. It contains a lot of fat and protein that strongly attract bacteria. When bacteria go on a feeding frenzy on the stress sweat, they release an odor that smells extremely unpleasant. Sweat is generally odorless, but when sweat combines with the bacteria on your skin, it causes an overpowering stinky smell.
Food and Alcohol Cause Body Odor
Foods with pungent smell cause body odor.
Digestion breaks down the food that you eat into compounds. These compounds enter the bloodstream and are released through your breath, urine and sweat.
Some foods release gases containing sulfur upon digestion. Onions, garlic, spices like curry, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables — all these are examples of food that release smelly gases through your pores when you sweat. They cause body odor.
Going on a low-carbohydrate high-meat/protein diet also results to body odor. The diet causes the body to release a strong fishy smell as it breaks down fat.
Drinking alcohol also causes body odor. As the alcohol enters the bloodstream, some are released through your breath and pores. It does not matter if you are drinking gin, vodka, wine or beer. When your body breaks down the alcohol, it gives off an unattractive odor.
This is particularly true if you drink too much. Alcohol is toxic. The body acts on it immediately – breaking it down and excreting it as fast as it can. The liver metabolizes most of the alcohol and excretes it through the urine. If you drink too much, however, and the liver cannot process the inordinate amount of alcohol, the body excretes some of it through your sweat and breath, causing you to develop body odor.