Natural home remedies: Body odour
It's natural—and healthy—to sweat, but no one wants to smell that way all day. Learn about home remedies that will help reduce body odour and find out when you should visit your doctor
Body odour starts with certain types of sweat. Eccrine glands pour out clear, neutral-smelling sweat, which cools your body as it evaporates. Apocrine glands, concentrated in your underarms and genitals, secrete a substance that bacteria feast upon, causing strong odours. Stress, ovulation, sexual excitement and anger can cause apocrine glands to kick into high gear. Some diseases cause the body to produce particular odours, and so do drugs such as venlafaxine (Effexor) and bupropion (Wellbutrin).
Natural remedies for body odour
• Wipe rubbing alcohol, vinegar or hydrogen peroxide onto your underarms during the day to cut down the numbers of odour-causing bacteria.
• Dab on witch hazel. You can splash it directly on your skin or apply it as often as necessary with a cotton pad. The clear, clean-smelling liquid has drying and deodorizing properties.
• Dust baking soda or cornstarch on any odour-troubled part of your body. Both of these powders absorb moisture, and baking soda also kills odour-causing bacteria.
• Shave regularly under your arms. Underarm hair can increase body odour because it traps sweat and bacteria.
• Apply tea-tree oil to problem areas, as long as it doesn’t irritate your skin. This oil, from an Australian tree, kills bacteria and also has a pleasant scent.
• Essential oils of lavender, pine and peppermint fight bacteria. They also smell nice. Since some people have a skin reaction to certain oils, test the underarm area or a small patch of skin before using.
• Delightfully fragrant, sage can fight bacteria and reduce perspiration. You can purchase a solution of sage tincture or diluted sage oil, or brew some sage tea that you cool and store in a bottle. Any of these liquids can be used in the underarm area, but not around the genitals. And after using sage, wash your hands before touching your face.
• A citrus fruit like lemon changes the pH level of your skin, making it more acidic. All bacteria, including the odour-causing kinds, have a hard time surviving in a highly acidic environment. Just rub on some lemon and pat dry.
Eat the right foods to counteract body odour
• Eat plenty of spinach, chard and kale. Green, leafy vegetables are rich in chlorophyll, which has a powerful deodorizing effect in your body.
• Have a few sprigs of parsley, credited with anti-odour properties. Or make parsley tea by steeping a teaspoon of chopped fresh parsley in a cup of boiling water for five minutes. Let it cool a bit before you drink it.
• Try wheatgrass juice, sold in health-food stores. Warning: It has a very strong taste, and some people feel nauseated the first time they try it. You might want to start with just 2 Tbsp (30 mL) of wheatgrass juice in 3/4 cup (200 mL) of water, then increase the proportion of juice in subsequent tastings. On first tasting, it’s wise to try this drink on an empty stomach just in case your stomach overreacts.
• Buy tablets containing chlorophyll. Many brands are available, made from plants like kelp, barley grass, and blue-green algae. Check the label for the dosage recommendation.
When to see your doctor
If you’re sweating frequently or heavily, you could have an overactive thyroid gland, low blood sugar or a problem with the part of the nervous system that controls sweating. If you think you’re sweating too much or you may have a medical condition causing your body odour, see your doctor. And if you’re taking a prescription medication that might be contributing to excessive odour, ask your doctor about switching to another drug.
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Adapted from 1,801 Home Remedies, Reader's Digest
Thanks for this really comprehensive guidance and advice, footcare often gets forgotten, even by those who take a healthy approach to life. This makes no sense as you rely on your feet, as you soon know when something goes wrong with them! Smelly feet is certainly a problem which should be taken seriously as it can indicate other health problems.
Bacteria are a natural partner to human life, we need them to live, and they are everywhere all of the time. There is normally a natural "balance of nature" of bacteria on your skin. The "good" bacteria do not cause odour, the "bad" do. When you wash using soap, you kill bacteria and upset this balance of good vs bad bacteria on your skin. Not to say that you should never use soap, you should indeed, but in moderation. Avoid anti-perspirant deodorant soaps, they are way too strong. That is the irony, those people most worried about BO are aggravating it by using too much of anti-bacterial substances.
Anyone working for Unilever or Johnson and Johnson posting comments? Because the product placement isn't too subtle...
Thanks so much for this interesting article. I wonder why the writer did not include the shave of pubic hair on a regular basis. like armpits, genitals trap sweat and bacteria. Plus, vaginal secretions cause bad odour. To shave pubic hair regularly is essential in the reduction of bad odour
For foot odour i found the bomb! It's a natural cream from Germany that you can get online here now www.pedisolixUSA.com they ship to Canada. You put it on your feet with cotton sock they provide for 24 hours and no foot odour for 3-4 MONTHS! Seriously! The only time i smelt foot odour was when i wore previously poluted shoes and they got damp or something. It also reduces, but not completely, the amount of sweat your feet produce.
What a relief!
If you find something that works for you that's great. But remember, that just because it works well does not mean its good for you. Read the ingredients. If the product contains any aluminum, parabens or propelyne glycol, or even silica - these are carcinogens. Even synthetic fragrances and dyes contain these cancer causing agents. If the product does not have an ingredients list, ask yourself why - What have they got to hide? Consider how often you use these products - probably 365 days a year. That's 365 days of exposure to toxins that your body absorbs like a sponge. The reasoning behind the natural alternatives is to avoid chemicals that are harmful. Unfortunately, chemicals and synthetics made in a lab are cheaper to produce (and longer lasting) than natural products, thus the price difference. Natural products can have side effects too, but it is much easier to deal with a short-term irritation now, than a potentially life threatening disease later in life. Choose your products with your future in mind.
You're right, natural remedies aren't for everyone - in which case I would suggest clicking through to the related article "Which deodorant is right for you?" for some suggestions on solutions from the drugstore.
Yeah. Or, instead of coating your body in witch hazel and lemon balm, you might try buying a stick of antibacterial deodorant.
You know some of this natural remedy stuff is great, but can you really visualize yourself applying sage oil around your genitals and drinking parsley tea? Keep it simple. Find a deodorant that works. Use it. Try to eat healthy so you don't reek. Drink some water. That's it folks.
A lot of this stuff is expensive, marginally effective, impractical. Try to see through when they're trying to sell you the IDEA of 'wellness,' 'purity,' 'immunity'. Immunity against what? Pain, poverty, the feeling of dirtiness? Are you being charged extra for a feeling of superiority?