Does Zinc Alleviate Body Odor?
Bromhidrosis (body odor) can be caused by one of our sweat glands (not eccrine, just apocrine), by the foods we eat (onions, hot red peppers, garlic) and by poor hygiene habits (not washing our hair or body regularly). If the body odor is caused by sweating, eating foods that contain zinc can help reduce such odor, according to Binghamton University. Does this Spark an idea?
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Body Odor
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Understanding how sweat (mixed with bacteria) produces an unpleasant smell on the body is helpful in understanding why the mineral zinc aids in reducing the smell. Our body produces two different types of sweat from two different sweat glands: eccrine (we have almost 5 million of them) and apocrine (just a few thousand). But only one of them is instrumental in producing body odor.
Sweat Glands' Role in Body Odor
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The eccrine sweat glands produce a salty, watery combination sweat as our body temperature rises. This type of sweat serves to cool down our body and evaporates into the air. It doesn't produce any smell. The apocrine sweat gland, on the other hand, produces a thick, oily type of sweat in areas such as the groin and armpits, which results in body odor.
But the sweat itself from the apocrine sweat gland isn't what actually produces the body odor. It is when the sweat mixes with the bacteria on our skin's surface that the smell is formed. Other factors also influence the smell and its intensity.
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Zinc and Other Factors
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The foods we eat (spicy peppers), the emotions we feel (anger, stress), any sickness (cold, flu) we are experiencing or substances being used (smoking, drinking alcohol) can have an impact on the type of body odor that is produced, as well as its smell strength, according to Binghamton University (see Reference 1).
And just as food (onions) can increase negative body odor smell and strength, food (leafy vegetables) can also be used to positively decrease body odor. Zinc, a mineral found in leafy vegetables and animal foods, plays a role in decreasing body odor by decreasing apocrine-produced sweat.
Zinc and Sweat Reduction
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Zinc is the second-most abundant trace mineral found in our body. And our body absorbs up to 40 percent of our intake of zinc from the foods we eat. The majority of zinc derived from our food comes from eating fish, poultry, red meats and other animal food products and green leafy vegetables. Leafy vegetables work to cleanse our body from the inside out, reducing the oily sweat (apocrine) we produce.
Zinc's Affect on Body Odor
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As an individual consumes zinc through leafy vegetables, oily sweat production decreases, reducing the amount of sweat able to mix with skin bacteria. This, in turn, reduces the body odor smell to some degree. Some individuals choose to take zinc supplements, but it is not clear if supplementation of this mineral can have the same affect on sweat reduction as natural food does.
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