Could certain foods really make your sweat smell better?
During summer’s warm weather, our sweat glands go into overdrive. But instead of relying on deodorants and perfumes, could we control our body odour – and even make it smell more attractive – by eating specific foods? We all know that when we get hot, we sweat more. It’s our body’s way of keeping cool – every droplet of sweat that evaporates from our skin helps to lower our temperature. As necessary as this process is, it sometimes comes with unpleasant side effects. Yep, we’re talking about the smell. Everyone smells different when they sweat: some people give off barely any trace of an odour, while on others the aroma can be overpowering. Prof Johan Lundström from Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm has carried out lots of research on smell and odour. He points out that the smell of our sweat depends on lots of different variables. “Our body odours originate from a combination of excreted compounds from different glands – that is partly dependent on our genes, the bacterial population on our body (which is due to such things as cleanliness and genetics) and the environment (humidity, temperature, air pressure). “And finally, what we eat can also have a significant part to play.” So, along with more obvious factors like genetics and how clean we are, the food we put in our bodies can pay a key role in how our sweat smells. The foods that change our body odour We don’t know the extent to which food impacts the smell we emit when we sweat, (“to the best of my knowledge, this has not been formally assessed,” says Lundström), but we do know which foods are more likely to influence the odour. “Individuals who eat a lot of meat tend to smell generally ‘worse’ than those on a mainly vegetable diet. Also, as is quite apparent to most, someone who loves to eat garlic will likely have a smellier odour to their sweat,” says Lundström. Asparagus and various spices can also influence our natural aroma. But what is it about these specific ingredients that make them capable of changing our sweat? “Essentially, they tend to contain chemicals that fuse into the blood stream. From there, they’re secreted to the outside. Most things that come into the blood stream are excreted one way or another via our body odour.” So, if you take garlic and meat – they are both rich in sulphur which, once consumed, comes out via various channels, including breaking wind – but also sweat. Are there foods that can make your sweat smell more attractive? While there’s little research into specific foods that will make your sweat smell sweeter, some studies do show which diets are more likely to result in a more ‘attractive’ sweaty scent. One such experiment took place at Australia’s Macquarie University. The 43 male participants washed only using water before putting on cotton T-shirts (no deodorant allowed). They kept the shirts on for 48 hours – which included one hour of exercise to get those sweat glands fired up – before submitting them for a sniffing analysis. The result? The men who had a greater fruit and veg intake were ‘significantly associated with more pleasant-smelling sweat (with more floral, fruity, sweet and medicinal qualities), independent of sweat intensity.’ Those who had eaten fat, meat, egg and tofu also fared favourably. However, those with a bigger carb intake were said to have a ‘stronger smelling, less pleasant sweat.’ Another study on the attractiveness of men’s sweat saw 17 men follow either a diet heavy in red meat or one containing no meat at all. Sweat samples were then collected after two weeks. A month later, they repeated the experiment, with all participants swapping to the alternative diet. A group of 30 women were then asked to assess the sweat in terms of pleasantness, attractiveness and masculinity. The men’s sweat was consistently found to be more pleasing when they’d been following the meat-free diet: ‘The odour of donors when on the non-meat diet was judged as significantly more attractive, more pleasant and less intense. This suggests that red meat consumption has a negative impact on perceived body odour hedonicity.’ As is often the case in scientific studies, there is far less research involving female participants. However one small study highlighted that when three women had their sweat analysed both before, during and after a ‘complete caloric restriction’, men found the women’s sweat more favourable once they had started eating again and less pleasant during the time of caloric restriction. So, is it worth changing your diet to improve your body odour? Rather than eating specific foods to try and improve it, Lundström says logically, it’s “easier to use deodorants and perfume.” Plus, he is keen to point out that even if you’re particularly pongy, it might not always be perceived as a bad thing. “There are differences between countries in respect of what body odours are accepted or not. However, even more variances come from the context the body odour is perceived within. For instance, body odour in a gym or in bed with someone you love is perceived very differently than if the very same odour is experienced in a context where cleanliness is particularly valued, like when you’re sat next to a stranger on a bus. “Also, a potential partner will like your natural body odour!” That’s one way to assess your compatibility with someone. Originally published July 2023