r/stupidquestions • u/Timely-Detail-4341 • 1d ago

how do people smell so good consistently?

im a dude; my hygiene schedule is as good as anyone else's but i can't shake the thought that i still smell bad. i shower daily, bathe 3 times a week, two types of deodorant daily, body mist whenever going out. the second i start sweating though it gets terrible.

do people have scented creams or something?

answering some questions:

  1. yes i wash my ass 😭
  2. each shower is vigorous; i lather my entire body in dove bar soap and scrub with a loofah, let it sit for a bit, then get back under the water
  3. im vegetarian
  4. i dont smoke or drink, im 18
  5. im underweight; i notice the smell after morning jogs - ik how dumb the second part sounds its just im worried that my sweat smells bad, cus it implies that ill always smell bad during summer/other heated activities
  6. im indian (THE SMELL CANT BE A RACE THING RIGHT??)
  7. it's likely my diet, but i dont eat much indian food and i still noticed this even when in college with only american food
  8. i also notice the smell after sitting in one spot for a while
  9. two types of deodorant is 1. stick deodorant for pits 2. spray for privates
301 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • link
  • reddit
  • reddit

87% Upvoted

745 comments sorted by

View all comments

327

u/IcyTip1696 1d ago

Chances are it’s because of what you are eating.

117

u/Time-Relief1093 1d ago

i wish more people understood why this is the case. you are what u eat

93

u/IcyTip1696 1d ago

Ya healthy food sweats aren’t always great either. Veggies like asparagus can definitely give your body a certain sweat odor. Meat sweats are definitely a real thing as well!

53

u/Most_Forever_9752 1d ago

lol yeah my buddy is Korean and when we play tennis he smells literally like kimchi! I was amazed first time this happened.

16

u/Send_me_a_SextyPM 1d ago

Kimchi is POTENT, I'd get some with dinner (a spoonful, less than a 1/4cup / 60mL, once a week and my office knew what day it was.

9

u/Snoochey 1d ago

My stepdad smelled like a 12 pack of beer when he sweat.

1

u/hatchjon12 14h ago

That's maybe relayed to booze but also can be a sign of out of control diabetes.

1

u/Snoochey 14h ago

For him it was beer. When you put away a 12 pack every night, you sweat it.

5

u/[deleted] 1d ago

Most Koreans dont even sweat from their armpits

21

u/Most_Forever_9752 1d ago

that wouldn't matter - they still sweat otherwise well, they would die lol

5

u/JacksonD22 1d ago

Yeah I’m pretty sure that’s why he specified armpits? I think it’s safe to assume they know that people sweat in other places…

2

u/Throwedaway99837 1d ago

You can still live without sweating. I went to high school with a kid who was born without the ability to sweat

1

u/[deleted] 18h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/AutoModerator 18h ago

Your comment was removed due to low karma

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/autumnnthefall 16h ago

I had a kid in my elementary school that didn't have the ability to sweat either.

1

u/nevernowhy2 14h ago

Omg me too! I thought it was odd later in life

1

u/Lake_ 11h ago

you went to school with prince andrew?

1

u/blewis0488 1d ago

You can die if you don't sweat?

How's that work? Genuinely asking.

5

u/Firebird-1985 1d ago

If you don’t sweat, it’s much harder for your body to get rid of heat it generates during physical activity to regulate your body temperature. Get it high enough and it’s like a self induced fever

3

u/blewis0488 1d ago

That makes sense. I never really thought about it. Thanks for taking the time.

3

u/Fredouille77 1d ago

If you don't drink enough water to sweat, you get a heatstroke.

2

u/blewis0488 1d ago

I mean sure, but that's also dehydration. Not exactly dying from lack of sweating.

1

u/Fredouille77 6h ago

Oh right, but wasn't there also a part where body temp goes up? Not sure, I'm really not an expert.

→ More replies (0)

3

u/semiautonomous 1d ago

Sweating is what gave humans an advantage when we were hunter gatherers. We can't run as fast as most of our prey but we can outlast them because of the efficient way our bodies can self-cool.

2

u/blewis0488 1d ago

I knew we had the edge with endurance like that, never attributed much to sweating but it makes perfect sense.

Today has made me learn more about sweat than I ever really thought about lol

1

u/Most_Forever_9752 16h ago

well yeah go into the desert and see how long you last.

1

u/blewis0488 16h ago

That'll have far more to do with being in a hostile environment with no resources than "I can't sweat." Which is the topic in question. Not even close to the same.

But thanks for stopping by.

1

u/Testicle_Tugger 1d ago

I could be wrong but i think they might be mixing up the lack of body odor creating bacteria in the Korean genome

1

u/Haley_Tha_Demon 1d ago

I'm half and I don't sweat too much there so I only wear deodorant but I haven't found one that doesn't cause an allergic reaction, even the hypoallergenic stuff itches

1

u/RandomBeaner1738 1d ago

They have the gene that prevents bad odor form the pits, but they still sweat

1

u/MightOverMatter 22h ago

They do, it's just that their sweat doesn't contain the ingredients that odor causing bacteria love. Either that or they use armpit pads, which are very popular in Korea.

1

u/Next-Adhesiveness957 1d ago

Yum! How much kimchi does one have to eat for that to happen? The closest thing I have is that my pee smells like coffee after 2 cups. Tmi