Well according to some, it can. However is this true; does eating more red meat cause a person to have stronger body odor? A popular health website wrote an article that said meat is the number one cause of body odor, it causes stagnation in the body, it putrefies in the gut and it releases all sorts of toxins into the system. These toxins get released from our sweat and cause us to smell unpleasant.
Those are some extraordinary claims, and most of them are not true. Meat does not cause stagnation nor does it putrefy in the body. It also does not release toxins, but it does release many different types of compounds as it gets digested. We'll get into that more later.
An experiment was conducted involving a group of men. They were divided into two groups; the first group was given a heavy meat diet, while the other was given no meat. Strict guidelines were put in place that limited consumption of things like garlic, alcohol and various other foods known to affect odor. At the end the of the experiment, odor samples were collected using cotton pads. Women were asked to rate the smell from the pads. The results showed that there was no distinguishable difference between the two groups.
That being said, there are reasons as to why eating large amounts of meat can cause body odor. Meat contains high amounts of sulfides. They get released from meat as it is digested in the body. They get absorbed into the system and can be secreted through sweat and the skin. In addition, meat also
contains carnitine and choline. These compounds in part get metabolized into various by products; one of them is trimethylamine. Trimethylamine is known to have a very pungent fishy odor. For these reasons, bad breath and stinky feet can also be a problem in addition to body odor.
For the most part this is not a problem, however when large amounts are consumed frequently, it causes excess amounts of these compounds to be present in the body. This is often a case for people are low carb diets.
In short, normal amounts of meat in the diet is perfectly normal and fine. In fact, meat provides many nutritional benefits as well as being extremely delicious. However, as with anything in life, moderation is key. Over indulgence can very well lead to an increase in body odor.
Those are some extraordinary claims, and most of them are not true. Meat does not cause stagnation nor does it putrefy in the body. It also does not release toxins, but it does release many different types of compounds as it gets digested. We'll get into that more later.
An experiment was conducted involving a group of men. They were divided into two groups; the first group was given a heavy meat diet, while the other was given no meat. Strict guidelines were put in place that limited consumption of things like garlic, alcohol and various other foods known to affect odor. At the end the of the experiment, odor samples were collected using cotton pads. Women were asked to rate the smell from the pads. The results showed that there was no distinguishable difference between the two groups.
That being said, there are reasons as to why eating large amounts of meat can cause body odor. Meat contains high amounts of sulfides. They get released from meat as it is digested in the body. They get absorbed into the system and can be secreted through sweat and the skin. In addition, meat also
contains carnitine and choline. These compounds in part get metabolized into various by products; one of them is trimethylamine. Trimethylamine is known to have a very pungent fishy odor. For these reasons, bad breath and stinky feet can also be a problem in addition to body odor.
For the most part this is not a problem, however when large amounts are consumed frequently, it causes excess amounts of these compounds to be present in the body. This is often a case for people are low carb diets.
In short, normal amounts of meat in the diet is perfectly normal and fine. In fact, meat provides many nutritional benefits as well as being extremely delicious. However, as with anything in life, moderation is key. Over indulgence can very well lead to an increase in body odor.
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