Bad breath, stinky feet, body odour and overly foul-smelling bowel movements may be signs that your body is giving you (and everyone else around you) that your diet is off.
Aside from practicing good personal hygiene such as showering regularly and using regular mild soap, the underarm area can be an embarrassing breeding zone for some. Many people find themselves having to buy super antiperspirants, perfumes and scented body washes - but this is all just making the problem worse!
The body is made up of more bacteria than cells, yup you read that right. We are one big moving universe of bacteria, both good and bad. Because we don’t walk around like the wailing flailing inflatable promo men, we have crevices that don’t get much open air-time, like our arm pits. This leads to a warm environment, and a build-up of extra moisture. Bacteria love to hang out in warm, moist, sheltered areas and feed off the sugars contained in your sweat. Excess sugar intake, more food for the bacteria, more stink!
Now onto processed, prepackaged, convenience, non-perishable - or ‘dead already’ foods; how do they make you stink?
Well, aside from the chemical storm that created their super long shelf lives, your body needs to break down, filter, process and remove those chemicals, and It’s not as easy as you think. Most of these products are also loaded with salt, sugar and trans-fats that cause inflammation. So, we’re starting off with inflammation and chemical overload, both of which lead to excess waste production.
If the majority of your diet is this dead, convenience food, then there are no living components (or enzymes) to help break down those foods. Cue the body to start breaking down internal structures to get those enzymes, (more waste).
Did I mention that these foods are also highly acidic? There’s a twofold problem here. First, the excess acid creates more C02 gas (waste); more bloating, gas, cramping there. Second, your stomach which makes its own acid (HCl) recognizes that there is already acid present from your food, so it gets confused and doesn’t produce much of its own anymore - this leads to food not being broken down properly. Cue the churning, queasiness, more bloating and gas to try and use whatever little stomach acid it did make and you’ve now introduced acid reflux. More inflammation, more waste, acid breath, yummy. The longer this continues, the less effective the digestive system becomes and the backlog starts piling up (constipation).
The average person today mostly uses scented products to help them smell attractive, or is it really to mask over their unpleasant odour? Anti-perspirants, perfumes and scented body washes, scrubs and creams add a layer onto the skin, clogging your pores and basically sealing in the sewage inside your body.
Before you know it, you’re on the merry-go-round of breath fresheners, antacids, laxatives, maximum strength antiperspirants and expensive eau-de-toilettes, lotions and potions.
If you’re among the many people this scenario relates to, it’s time to heal, repair, rebuild and eliminate the built-up refuse. It’s time for a re-evaluation of your diet.
- Written by Janna Hattingh, BKin, CHNC
It’s time to re-asses your health, diet, lifestyle goals for Spring!
Book a consult with our Certified Holistic Nutrition Consultant, Janna Hattingh.