Groom Yourself to Control Body Odour

Do you remember when you held your nose while passing the chemistry lab? Imagine if one smelled like that or worse! Controlling body odour is a very important aspect of grooming. But first, what is body odour? Body odour is a general term for the odour that results when sweat and other skin secretions are acted upon by naturally occurring bacteria. Sweat is actually the body’s most convenient way of maintaining “homeostasis” or keeping cool. When the temperature spurts above the normal, the roughly 2.5 million sweat glands, act as tiny air-conditioners in maintaining the homeostatic balance. Surprisingly, our sweat has no odour of its own. It smells bad because it is acted upon by bacteria on the skin’s surface. This action is pronounced in the case of apocrine glands present in the under-arms and are almost fully responsible for body odour.

There are three different kinds of individual problems, which are responsible for body odour.

Hygiene problem: not cleaning up properly, not having a proper bath or using clean clothes.

Skin problem: if you have a bit of eczema or psoriasis or allergy problems, it is possible that skin infection, probably fungal, is contributing to the problem.
Genetic condition: there are some uncommon genetic conditions that are associated with odour.

Golden rules to fight body odour

Take a shower using an antibacterial soap once in a day. When bathing, use a good brush or loofah in circular movement around your under-arms.

This should be followed by applying a deodorant in your under-arms. Deodorants are an effective tool to combat body odour, especially the ones that are also anti-perspirants. Use a deodorant or anti-perspirant that contains aluminum chlorohydrate or zirconium.

Curb your coffee and tea intake. Caffeine can stimulate the autonomic nervous system, which regulates swearing. Limit yourself to two cups daily.
Avoid alcohol since it increases perspiration potential by dilating blood vessels.

Food to be Avoided

You should avoid food that are rich in lecithin or choline or cantine/lysine such as soya products, corn, wheat, and also chocolates, peanuts, nuts, raisins, cereals, eggs, etc or limit the intake of these foods to a small part of the daily diet. Follow these simple tips and free yourself from body odour.