What we eat can influence more than our waistlines. It turns out, our diets also help determine what we smell like.
A recent study found that women preferred the body odor of men who ate a lot of fruits and vegetables. Whereas men who ate a lot of carbohydrates gave off a smell that was less appealing.
— Read more at Men, Listen Up: Women Like The Smell Of Guys Who Eat A Certain Diet at NPR.
I heard that piece this morning. It was interesting that “Men who ate a lot of meat did not produce a sweat that was any more — or less — attractive to women. But meat did tend to make men’s odor more intense.”
Yes, I thought that was interesting too. So eat meat plus lots of veg & fruit, less bread, and you have intense good smelling sweat, I guess?
*puts on biochemist cap*
This does tend to make sense. When we digest foods many thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of aromatic compounds are created and released into the bloodstream and is filtered out by the body. Our excretions- sweat included- will include some of those secretions, as well as trace sugars for our bacteria friends.
It’s those bacteria feeding on those trace sugars and secretions that determine the odor. Fragrant compounds and trace sugars from veggies and fruit will have a different smell from starchy carbs.
But then you spray on Sauvage — what then? I do wonder how much fragrance messes with the system.
For real though:
1) This is why perfume scents can seem to vary so much from person to person- noses are different to be sure, but the subtle exhalations of our skin can shift application of fragrance.
2) t can also make a fragrance too much to bear. Consider those big bomb-y perfumes from the past when people smoked like fiends. Now consider how they smell on us, today (if notrefomrulated and still in pristine condition) Before, 3 quick sprays may have been enough. NOW, 1 quick spray would be enough.
I must be commuting with a preponderance of bacteria-infested meat-eating carboholics who shower once a month.
Ha!
It’s New York, so that may indeed be the case!