The old adage ‘you are what you eat’ takes on a whole new meaning with some foods, which actually leave you smelling like what you ate—and not in a good way!
While all of these foods are fine to eat in moderation, if you have a big date or event coming up, you might consider limiting or avoiding them.
Coffee
There’s a reason the term ‘coffee breath’ exists: the morning beverage leaves you kinda stinky. Coffee has a strong scent—and like most foods with strong scents, will affect the way you smell. The caffeine in coffee activates your sweat glands which makes you sweat more than usual, while the chemicals in coffee make the odor of your sweat more pungent.
Additionally, the acidity of coffee leaves your mouth dehydrated and encourages bacterial growth—leading to bad breath. Limit your coffee intake—or carry some fresh mint leaves or peppermint essential oil with you to your event. Staying hydrated can also mitigate some of the coffee breath.
Red meat
Because red meat moves so slowly through the digestive system, it collects a lot of bacteria on the way, which leads to foul smelling perspiration and bad breath. In fact, when a 2006 research study from the Czech Republic compared the scents of vegetarian males versus meat-eating males, they found that the meat-eaters had far more offensive body odor.
Organic, grass fed beef has a lot of health benefits, but when it comes to body odor, eating it in smaller quantities, and less frequently, can help you to avoid this problem.
Garlic
Garlic used to be used to scare away vampires, and the smell is most likely what made it so legendarily effective. When you eat garlic, allicin, which is within another sulfur compound called allin, is released. This substance breaks down quickly in your body and is released in the form of smelly sweat and breath.
Eat the spice in moderation before a big event and at the same time as others—that way you won’t notice each others’ smell! Mint leaves or a couple drops of peppermint essential oil in water can also do the trick.
Curry spices
As mentioned before, anything with a strong odor will influence the way you smell. The way that curry smells coming out of your pores is undoubtedly not as pleasant as the way it smells when it’s simmering on the stove. A curry may not be your best pre-date lunch option.
Onions
If chopping raw onions can make you cry, then think of how others must feel when they smell them on you. Onions get their pungent flavor from the strong oils they contain. When you consume onions, these oils seep into your bloodstream and lungs, and are released via perspiration and your breath.
While cooked onions are not as strong, leave the raw onions alone before your event if you want to smell your best.
Alcohol
One glass of wine or beer will probably not cause body odor, but drinking any more than this definitely can. As alcohol is processed in the body, it seeps out through your pores and breath, and you begin to smell like the cocktail you drank last night—without the fruity mixtures.
Keep it to one drink, or wash down each one with twice as much water, which will allow the alcohol to be processed quicker.
Excessive protein
To avoid this, try to incorporate more healthy carbs like vegetables into your diet.
If you do consume a lot of these foods and want to lessen the resulting odor, take frequent showers, use a natural deodorant like an essential oil or apple cider vinegar, and most importantly, drink a ton of water. Upping your water intake will help you to quickly flush out the compounds that are causing the odor.
-The Alternative Daily
Sources:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16891352
http://www.berkeleywellness.com/healthy-eating/food/lists/can-food-cause-body-odor/slideid_499
http://www.medicaldaily.com/you-are-what-you-eat-6-smelly-foods-are-actually-giving-you-bad-body-odor-298318