There is a lot more to that musky smell than you think. Brace yourself! We’re about to get really REAL about BO. It’s gross, but hey, it can happen to anyone. Here are 10 amazing facts about your body odor!
1. Sweat Does Not Smell
Sweat is not a cause for body odor. Sweat is odorless and can be of two types, the eccrine sweat and apocrine sweat . The eccrine sweat is the clear sweat mostly consisting of water, which plays an important role regulating our body temperature. The apocrine sweat is thicker and is mostly around the areas with hair follicles like armpits and the scalp. It mixes with the bacteria to produce certain chemicals that give out body odor.
Read Also:Does Your Body Odor Smell Like Ammonia?
2. Your Body Odor May Indicate A Health Problem
Everyone has a particular body odor, but certain smells may indicate a health issue. It is known that if your sweat smells like bleach, it may indicate a kidney or liver disease, while fruity body odor often points to diabetes. Also a rare genetic disorder, called trimethylaminuria, makes a person produce fish-like body odor.
3. Men’s Body Odor Is A Turn-On For Women
Studies suggest that, men’s sweat can cause a number of emotional and physiological changes in women. The male chemical androstadienone in sweat was found to regulate menstrual cycle and it also increases the release of luteinizing hormone, which plays an important role in stimulating ovulation. It also actives certain brain areas and improves a woman’s mood and sexual arousal.
4. Men And Women Choose Partners By Odor
If you do not like your new partner’s odor you might think twice about having a long term relationship with them. Scientist say that body odor plays a significant role in human sexual attraction. Men and women choose their partners based on their body odors.
5. Your Body Odor Tells About Your Diet
Spicy foods like garlic, onions, curry and cumin can give you a strong body odor. The smell can persist up to 24 hours after eating them.
6. Women Smell Like Onions While Men Smell Like Cheese
Studies found that women’s body odor contains high levels of sulphur, which together mixed with bacteria gives out a smell more like onions. Men’s body odor smells more like fatty acids, which when mixed with bacteria smells more like cheese.
7. Asian People Produce Less Body Odor
Excessive sweating is a more common problem for Caucasians and Africans, who tend to have more hair follicles. East Asians have lesser and smaller apocrine glands, which explains why they use lesser deodorants than the people in Africa and Europe.
8. Your Body Odor Is Unique As Fingerprint
Your body produces one of its kind odor and is different irrespective of what you eat. An individual’s body odor can be determined by volatile organic compounds. It can give out different odors as unique as fingerprints or DNA sample. Scientists are working at creating special devices to identify individual odor types to find criminals, terrorists or missing children.
9. Kids Do Not Stink
Smelly armpits are not a problem for kids. Children do not need to mask their body odur till puberty. During puberty, androgen hormones activate sweat glands, leading to production of body odor. The pungent odor appears when kids generally reach the age of 8-14.
10. Women Detect Body Odors Better Than Men
Women are better at recognizing body odors and appear to identify differences in odor quality. Scientists suggest that women can sniff underarm body odor even if covered with antiperspirants. Researchers claim that women’s sensitivity to body odor is explained by its biological importance.
