Q: I’m a clean guy – one or sometimes two showers a day and deodorant. But heavy sweating during a gym workout causes embarrassment because my body emits an overwhelming odor of ammonia. I’d like to assume I’m not deathly ill. I eat right; I’m basically a vegetarian, but go heavy on protein (low-carb) because I’m trying to burn fat. What causes this stink and how can I prevent it?
A: Sweat is actually odorless. That stench from a guy’s armpit in your face during a bus ride comes from the fact that bacteria reside on his skin and eat the perspiration, releasing the smelly by-products as they die. Most body odor is caused by poor hygiene but it happens to all of us because we all have a natural bacterial camp on our skin. And our bacterial fauna are always hungry. (Germ phobes, don’t freak out about this because it’s completely natural.) We just need to bathe routinely.
Other factors that can add to the stench include physical activity, caffeine-containing drinks (coffee, soda, tea), medications, hormonal imbalances and testosterone. That last one explains why men experience BO more frequently than women.
Some people don’t like to shower very much. In this case, no amount of deoderant will help; it will only make the skunks run faster.
When it comes to clean men with occasional BO that smells like ammonia, this is not a death sentence but could be a sign of liver or kidney disease. Your doctor should run blood tests and otherwise check you out. Additionally, your heavy protein diet may be burning fat, but it’s taxing your liver and kidneys, boosting body odor. See, protein has to be broken down in the body, and people with kidney or liver compromise can’t do that effectively. My guess is, you’re overtaxing these organs, and the BO is telling you to stop. If I were you, I’d change my diet, minimizing proteins and taking supplements that support GI health, particularly that of the liver, and see a physician.
Other odors in the body are warning signs. For example, a fruity or sickly sweet smell to the breath could indicate diabetes, and in some cases, the problem is an emergency – a condition is termed “ketoacidosis.”
If your breath smells like, well, remnants from your toilet, it could indicate an intestinal blockage.
Suzy Cohen is a registered pharmacist. To contact her, visit .
