Sweating is a normal body process that helps to cool down the body. Because of this, you will experience sweating after strenuous exercise and workouts. Although sweating is normal and healthy, when unchecked it can lead to body odor. Apart from sweating, diet and fungal infections can also result in body odor. Here are the steps to maintaining good body odor all day.
- Diet. Generally, eating fruits and vegetables will help to improve your body odor. This is especially useful if you have chronic body odor, which can be the result of unprocessed protein in the blood stream, which affects the sweat. The fibers on plant based diets, however, act to remove the waste products in the body. Try eating whole wheat breads and grains as well, which act as cleansers for the body.
- Vinegar. If the body odor is caused by particular trouble areas in the body such as the armpits or the feet, you can try applying a vinegar solution. Take sponge and scrub away at these body parts. Vinegar is an acidic compound that is gentle enough on the skin to not cause irritation, but powerful enough to reduce the bacteria present in the skin. These bacterial growths can sometimes create the bad odor.
- Baking soda. Apart from vinegar, you can also use baking soda mixed with a few drops of water to create a paste that should be used as a cleanser to reduce body odor. Baking soda is also one of the active ingredients in toothpaste and can be used to eliminate bad breath as well. Just as in the mouth, baking soda naturally neutralizes the bacteria that are present on the surface of the skin. Baking soda has been traditionally used to remove tough odors, such as the stench from refrigerators.
- Water. In some cases, sweat has bad smell because of the lack of water in the body. This means that the sweat you excrete is very concentrated. To dilute the sweat and improve the over-all hydration levels in the body, drink plenty of water. You should take in at least eight glasses of water. Apart from water, you can add a few dollops of honey into the drink. Honey also has antibacterial properties, which can promote probiotics, or good bacteria in your body, and reduce bad bacteria.
- Exercise. There are certain toxins and waste elements in the body that are best excreted through sweat. Exercising can improve your body odor, since this will give you a venue to excrete waste. With regularized exercise, the toxins in the body will be excreted naturally. After exercise, you can take a bath to remove sweat from your body. This will ensure that your sweat for the rest of the day is essentially clean.
- Anti fungal shampoos and soaps. Sometimes, however, the cause of body odor is fungal infections. Fungal infections will sometimes not respond to vinegar or to baking soda. You can use medical soaps and shampoos that have antifungal properties designed to remove certain fungal strains. Take a bath and leave the suds on your hair or body for a few minutes. Rinse off.
Sweating, bacteria, and even fungi are not always avoidable. With these steps, you should be able to minimize the impact, which these elements have on your body odor.