Most people in America have issues with perspiration.  A multi-million dollar deodorant and antiperspirant industry markets to your fear of walking around with unsightly sweat stains underneath your arms.  Body odor is commonly associated with sweat. The body has two types of sweat glands, and both types produce sweat that is made up largely of water. The eccrine glands, which are located on almost every part of the body, produce the sweat that cools the body. The apocrine glands — located underneath the armpits, around the nipples, and in the groin — produce sweat whose function is not clear.

The sweat produced by the apocrine glands has a hand in your body odor issues. Apocrine sweat carries a considerable amount of oil, which provides energy for bacteria. In turn, it’s this bacterial growth that creates the odor that keeps others at a distance.

Much of the problem with sweat is that it may smell and subsequently turn off a potential mate.  Regardless of the unpleasant effects, sweating is the reason we are able to stay cool — even bacteria has many positive contributions to our lives.  Ancient peoples have used perfumes to hide body odors, but recently, the push has been to use highly concentrated chemicals to mask foul odors.

Instead of putting your skin and particularly your armpits in harms way, how about trying out these natural ways to alleviate the stress of sweat:

Eat Better

Studies have shown that the overused cliche “you are what you eat” holds true every time it’s used.   In 2006, Drs. Jan Havlicek and Pavlina Lenochova took a small sample size of women and asked them to rate the difference between meat-eating men and vegetarian men.  When results came back, the vegetarian men’s smell were proved to be significantly more attractive, pleasant, and less intense.

Eliminate Spices and Irritants

According to the Mayo Clinic, most spices contribute to bad odor because of their tendency to seep out through pores.  This also includes garlic and onions, as well as coffee.  Even though these herbs, spices, and stimulants are agreeable with our taste-buds, they will wreak havoc on our internal systems.

Wash Your Clothes

Some people will never wash clothes, leave clothes in their hamper for weeks, or air dry workout clothes.  When sweat mixes with the highly acidic antiperspirant, sweat stains form and discolor clothes. These items may not smell anymore, but they’ll look terrible, and every time you even start to have displeasing smell, everyone will look at you and your motley shirt first.

To make sure you don’t have this problem, always apply cold water to wherever you put antiperspirant on your body.  This will stop the chemical reaction and buy you some time before you wash your clothes.

Relax

Stress, excitement, and anger can always bring on unwanted rises in emotions, which may start the production of sweat.  Try keeping calm in stressful situations by avoiding toxic environments and people while increasing your practice of meditation, yoga, and exercise.

 

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2 Comments

  1. liquid chlorophyll in your bottled water. totally available cheap thru nature’s sunshine among others, it works.

    • @Gayle Leslie: YAY!!!! your right on POINT! I’ve been promoting this product for 15years! I’ve seen the proof in myself and others that drop a little liquid chlorophyll in your water daily. It’s the most natural way of adding energy and cleansing at the same time!

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