If you’ve been wondering how to remove body odor aside from practicing good hygiene religiously, then you’re in luck. There’s no need to buy products that promise to kill that malodorous scent – whether it be bad breath, stinky feet or your overall scent – coming from your body!
Proper hygiene starts from within – and thankfully we can eat our way to it! Say hello to smelling good forever with these foods that should be a staple in your kitchen.
How to remove body odor with food
1. Fresh herbs
Fresh herbs such as peppermint, spearmint and parsley serve as mouthwash that temporarily freshen your breath. Other green herbs reduce body odor as well. This is largely thanks to the compound chlorophyll that neutralizes odors.
2. Milk
Drinks that contain high water and fat are great at neutralizing odor, say after eating adobo that’s swimming in garlic. It doesn’t matter if it’s whole milk or fat-free; either works to reduce the sulfur contained in garlic.
Photo: Unsplash
However, a study suggests that whole milk seems to be more effective than its fat-free counterpart.
3. Citrus fruits
What’s one delicious answer for how to remove body odor? Loading up on fruits such as dalandan, calamansi, oranges and the more exotic grapefruit. Thanks to their fiber content, all of these fruits help the body to flush out toxins that contribute to body odor.
4. Fish
White-meat fish such as tilapia helps curb body odor. When the body metabolizes white-meat fish, the former does not produce protein that causes unpleasant odors to pass through the skin, which is the case for red meat.
Opt for other alternatives to red meat such as chicken, beans and soy.
Continue reading to learn how to remove body odor with certain foods
5. Apple cider vinegar
Its acetic acid, phenolics and high acid content kill bacteria that causes foot odor.
Here’s what you can do: mix half a cup of apple cider with a liter of water. Soak feet in the mixture for twice a week to eliminate foot odor.
6. Cornstarch
What’s an affordable answer to how to remove body odor? Use cornstarch as an alternative to foot powder. Scatter some on your closed shoes to help neutralize unwanted odors by absorbing extra moisture.
7. Tea
To eliminate foot odor, you must first understand how it occurs: when natural bacteria and perspiration mix, it produces an unpleasant smell. The trick is to prevent the feet from perspiring.
Here’s what you can do: Soak feet in a basin of cooled black or green tea, which contain tannic acid that keeps feet dry, for ten minutes daily.
But if your feet begin to feel dry, limit the soaking to every other day.
Photo: Unsplash
8. Vegetables
Plant-based food are high in fiber, which helps keep the gut clean through regular digestion. Increase your consumption of raw vegetables such as salad greens with spinach, carrots and cucumber.
At the same time, you may want to eat less of c
abbage, cauliflower and broccoli, which contain sulfur that causes body odor.
9. Food with pro-biotics
This type of food restores non-harmful bacteria in the gut which promotes good digestion.
Load up on drinks and food that contain these bacteria such as yogurt, Yakult, Chamyito and fermented food such as kimchi.
Note: Stay away from food that make you sweat such as spicy food, alcohol or caffeine.
ALSO READ: Does your child have bad body odor? Here’s what’s causing it
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