Afraid you smell a little funky?
Body odor is 100% natural—but it’s also 100% embarrassing.
For many, slathering on deodorants and perfumes simply doesn’t do the trick. Luckily, there’s an all-natural (and tasty) way to cut body odor: your diet.
The foods you eat have a big impact on how you smell. Certain foods make body odor worse, and others can improve it. In this post, we’re going to focus on the vitamins for body odor and how to fight it from the inside out.
You’ll learn what to eat and which supplements to take to stop body odor before it starts.
All of the tips below are backed by the latest research. So, if you’ve ever wondered whether popping a supplement could help you beat that BO, keep reading.
Understanding Body Odor
Body odor, also known as bromhidrosis, is the unpleasant smell produced by the body when you sweat.
You already know what BO is, but you may not know how body odor works.
Understanding what causes those offensive aromas can help you fight them more effectively. The truth is, your body doesn’t smell bad naturally—and neither does your sweat.
Body odor has two main causes:
- Chemical compounds from the food and drink you consume releasing through your sweat.
- Sweat interacting with bacteria on your skin.
How can food affect the way you smell? When you eat, your body breaks down food into smaller components called metabolites.
Some of these metabolites are expelled through your sweat. Certain foods, such as garlic, contain compounds that are converted into metabolites with strong odors [1].
Some of these metabolites are expelled through your sweat. Certain foods, such as garlic, contain compounds that are converted into metabolites with strong odors [1].
Other foods that release stinky metabolites include:
- Sulfur-containing vegetables like onions and asparagus
- Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage
- Spices like cumin, curry
- Alcohol
- Spicy foods and chillies
Bacteria interacting with your sweat is the primary culprit of body odor. Your skin has two main types of sweat glands: eccrine and apocrine glands.
Eccrine glands are found all over the body and produce a watery sweat that helps regulate body temperature. This sweat is generally odorless.
Apocrine glands are found in areas with a lot of hair follicles, such as the armpits and groin. These glands produce a thicker sweat that contains proteins, lipids and sugars.
This is basically an all-you-can-eat buffet for bacteria. Bacteria break down the compounds in sweat, releasing unpleasant odors.
Diet can have a big impact on this cause of BO, too.
Certain foods increase or alter the concentration of lipids, sugars, etc. in apocrine sweat [1]. This provides more food for bacteria and results in stronger body odor.
These foods include:
- Red meat
- Dairy
- Eggs
- Fried foods
- Processed foods
- Soy
- Legumes (beans)
Other factors that can influence how strong or noticeable body odor is include genetics, hygiene and stress.
Stress can increase sweating from the apocrine glands, which can lead to stronger body odor [2].
These Supplements Stop Body Odor
Don’t worry; you don’t have to give up all of your favorite foods to avoid body odor.
Instead, you can boost your intake of minerals and vitamins for body odor.
The following vitamins can help manage body odor by influencing the composition of your sweat and supporting overall skin health.
Magnesium
Magnesium is an essential mineral that plays a role in many bodily functions, including the regulation of body odor.
Magnesium helps regulate enzyme activity, including those that break down sweat components [3]. By stabilizing these processes, magnesium may reduce the amount of sweat you produce [4]. Less sweat, particularly from your apocrine glands, means less odor.
Magnesium is also highly connected to stress [5]. If your magnesium is low, you may suffer from more stress sweating—and remember, stress triggers sweating from smelly apocrine glands.
Most Americans (around 75%) don’t get enough magnesium, as it’s primarily found in dark leafy greens, nuts and beans [6]. Taking a magnesium supplement may help control sweating and reduce stress.
Plus, it contributes to hundreds of other body processes, making it a smart supplement to take regardless of odor issues.
Zinc
When apocrine sweat meets bacteria, your BO levels spike.
Zinc may be able to reduce the amount of hungry bacteria on your skin. With less bacteria around, even heavy sweating will cause less body odor.
Zinc helps maintain healthy skin by reducing the production of sebum, an oily substance that can promote bacterial growth when overproduced [7].
By keeping sebum levels in check, zinc may help reduce the intensity of body odor. Zinc is found most abundantly in meat, dairy and beans.
But be careful; eating too many of these things may have the reverse BO effect due to the additional compounds they contain.
If you have issues with body odor, you may want to consider a zinc supplement instead. It contains all the zinc you need to fight bacteria on your skin without the extra stuff that could boost odor-causing compounds in your sweat.
Probiotics
We’ve been talking a lot about the not-so-nice odor-causing bacteria on your skin. But not all bacteria are bad.
Probiotics are examples of the good guys.
These bacteria live in your gut and make up your gut microbiome. They have a huge impact on mood, immunity, metabolism and a lot more.
A healthy gut microbiome helps you digest food more efficiently. This could reduce the number of odor-causing metabolites that are excreted through your sweat glands [8].
Like zinc, probiotics also help regulate sebum—the oily substance that attracts bacteria [9]. The gut microbiome is intricately connected to skin health, so taking probiotics can have a positive influence on your BO and your general glow.
Probiotics are mostly found in fermented foods, such as yogurt, kimchi and pickles. If you don’t like pickled or sour-tasting foods, take a probiotic supplement.
Vitamin B Complex
Like probiotics, B vitamins are essential for a healthy metabolism. They help you digest food and turn it into energy.
B vitamins like B2 (riboflavin), B6 and B12 have been found to help break down proteins and fats in the diet more efficiently [10].
This process may reduce the likelihood of producing odor-causing compounds. B vitamins also support the health of the skin and the function of sweat glands.
Getting enough B vitamins may help you sweat less and smell better [4]. You can get B vitamins in meat, whole grains, dairy, legumes and vegetables.
There are a lot of B vitamins you need every day, which can make it tough to cover all your B bases. Taking a B complex supplement is the easiest way to get them all.
Say Bye Bye to BO
Body odor is embarrassing, but it’s also a natural part of having a body.
That means there are natural solutions available to keep you smelling fresh and feeling confident.
Before you drain your bank account on chemical cosmetics, consider the root causes of body odor. Simple changes in your diet can have a huge impact.
Studies have found that diet alone can influence how you smell and that others notice a difference [11]. Plus, getting more of the nutrients above could also help reduce stress, improve your skin, boost your metabolism and so much more.
It’s not just about body odor—it’s about improving your overall health, and healthy people smell good!
If you don’t know where to start, try taking a potent multivitamin like Manna Liposomal Multivitamin. It contains loads of B vitamins, magnesium and zinc, all of which help fight body odor.
Next, make a few changes to your diet to eliminate BO triggers.
Before long, your body odor will be coming up roses.
FAQ
Vitamins help reduce body odor by influencing the composition of your sweat and supporting overall skin health. Certain vitamins, like magnesium and zinc, can regulate enzyme activity, reduce the amount of sweat produced, and maintain healthy skin, thereby minimizing body odor.
The most effective vitamins and minerals for fighting body odor include magnesium, zinc, probiotics, and vitamin B complex (or a multivitamin that contains a lot of B vitamins!). These nutrients help regulate sweat production, reduce bacterial growth on the skin, and improve metabolism, which can all contribute to reducing body odor.
Yes, changing your diet can significantly impact your body odor. Foods high in sulfur compounds, such as garlic and onions, can worsen body odor, while a diet rich in vitamins and minerals like magnesium and zinc can help reduce it.
To prevent body odor, avoid foods that release strong-smelling metabolites, such as sulfur-containing vegetables (e.g., onions, asparagus), cruciferous vegetables (e.g., broccoli, cauliflower), spices (e.g., cumin, curry), alcohol, spicy foods, red meat, dairy, eggs, fried foods, and processed foods.
Yes, taking supplements like magnesium, zinc, probiotics, and a vitamin B complex can help manage body odor. These supplements support healthy skin, regulate sweat production, and improve your metabolism, all of which can reduce body odor.
- https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/17865-body-odor
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482278/
- https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/
- https://www.ausderm.com/do-you-suffer-from-hyperhidrosis-excessive-sweating/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507250/
- https://dining.nd.edu/whats-happening/news/magnesiumthe-invisible-deficiency/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6155029/
- https://www.nutravita.co.uk/blogs/news/3-surprising-causes-of-bad-body-odor-and-here-s-how-to-stop-it
- https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/10/7/1303
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9662251/
- https://academic.oup.com/chemse/article/31/8/747/364338
