5 Foods That Make You Smell Not So Hot


Whew. Cue hand wave in front of nose. If we are what we eat, then it makes sense that we also smell like what we eat. Anybody who has ever caught a whiff of stanky garlic breath or smelled the spicy stench of cumin wafting from another person’s perspiration knows the truth of this statement.

What comes out of your body reflects what goes in. And if you’re eating these five foods in particular, next time you ask, “What’s that smell?” remember that it might just be you.

Red Meat

Eau de hamburger? Eating red meat regularly can cause bad body odor from the inside out. Red meat essentially stagnates in the body, lingering in the digestive tract and releasing odor-causing toxins into the bloodstream through the large intestine.

Want proof? A 2006 study in the Czech Republic tested the effect of red meat consumption on the “attractiveness” of body odor. Two groups of men ate either a “meat” or a “nonmeat” diet for two weeks and then a group of women sniff tested perspiration samples from the men for pleasantness, attractiveness, masculinity and intensity. The results showed that women judged odor samples from the nonmeat diet as more attractive, more pleasant and less intense. Did you read that guys?

Junk Food

Big surprise that junk food makes you smelly. It isn’t labeled “junk” for nothing. Processed foods made with refined white flour, sugars, partially hydrogenated oils and other processed and synthetic ingredients can make you stink. These foods tend to rot in your intestines because your body has a hard time digesting some of the ingredients. Like red meat, toxins from these foods then get released out of the body through your pores making you reek.

Dairy Products

Got bad breath? If so, it could be caused by consuming dairy products. Dairy products contain proteins that your stomach breaks down into stinky sulfurous compounds, which can lead to funky-smelling breath, like that oh-so lovely rotten egg smell.

Fried Foods

Those hard-to-resist fried foods wrapped in eye-appealing golden brown coatings contain hard-to-digest fats and oils that decay in your intestines. Toxins from those ingredients that your body has difficulty digesting then get released out of your body—by whatever means necessary—which can lead to some seriously stinky flatulence.

Garlic and Onions

People who like garlic and onions often really like garlic and onions. And that means a lot more foul fragrance coming from your body than just bad breath. Consuming large quantities of these flavorful foods can make you stinky all over. When digested these strong-smelling foods produce sulfurous gases, which get absorbed into the bloodstream and then released through your pores. Meaning when you perspire, you’ll smell like you were just freshly sautéed.

Follow Kirsten on Twitter @kirsten_hudson

image: tarale





From our partners

About Author


  • Around the Web