3 Great Herbal Remedies for Body Odor

Battling body odor can be embarrassing for the person with the problem and difficult to deal with for the family and friends of the afflicted. I know this from personal experience.

No, I actually smell quite nice, but I knew a person once who had the weirdest concoction of smells emanating from his body that it was nearly unbearable to be around. It was an unpleasant mixture of rotten food and feces. Unfortunately for me, he was my supervisor at a job I used to have and I am glad I no longer have to be suffocated by his odor.

Of course, we all know that the sweat glands are responsible for producing the medium in which bacteria grows and thrives. There are two types of sweat glands, the eccrine gland and the apocrine glands. The eccrine sweat glands are distributed throughout the skin and each gland has a secretory portion and an excretory tube that extends directly to the surface and opens at a pore. The apocrine sweat glands are mainly located in the armpits and groin areas. The combination of these glands produce sweat, which is a medium in which bacteria can grow and thrive.

The aroma they produce is from the breaking down of the fluids in the sweat. Body odor can also be caused by skin infections, athlete’s foot is the most common fungal one. Less common body odor can also be caused by serious diseases of the liver and kidneys and what you eat can also effect the way one smells.

For example, deficiencies of magnesium and zinc can cause odor, vegetarians and people who consume large quantities of meat can also have a distinctive body odor. There are some people who cannot metabolize choline, which by the way, will lead to a fatty liver. These people will often have a fishy smell to them. There are the usual suspects as well, such fine foods as garlic, onions and curry. Alcohol consumption can also lead to body odor.

So, lets get to a few herbal remedies. One herb that can be used to combat body odor is sage. Sage is unique because the oils it produces are antiseptic and antibiotic. This means that when applied to the skin in a powder form it will kill the bacterium that are causing the body odor.

Another way to use sage is to make a tea from it and then bath or wash yourself with the tea. Steeping two teaspoons of the dried herb in one cup of hot water for five minutes should do the trick. Be careful if you choose to drink the sage tea. It can be done but only once in awhile. Routine use of sage tea can cause dizziness, hot flashes and possibly seizures.

Here is a recipe for sage body powder:

½ cup cornstarch
½ cup baking soda
1 tablespoon of ground sage
1 tablespoon of ground rosemary

Mix together and put in a shaker of some sort.

You may have noticed that the recipe also contained rosemary. The piney scent of rosemary is refreshing and also has antiseptic and antibiotic properties. As with the sage, rosemary can also be used as a tea body wash. Steep one teaspoon of dried leaf in one cup of hot water for ten to fifteen minutes. Rosemary tea and rosemary in general is actually quite an amazing herb.

The last herb I am going to mention in this article is fennel. Fennel is well known for combating bad breath and odors originating from the digestive tract. In fact, you can eat whole fennel seeds in the place of breath mints, many Indian restaurants offer them to their customers. Fennel tea has been in use for thousands of years to help sooth colicky babies and relieve gaseous episodes which can be quite odoriferous. Hehehe.

I know you already know this, but I will say it anyways….. Always check with your doctor if you are pregnant, taking other medications or just have any concerns before you consume any herb or natural remedy. Remember that pharmaceutical companies derive many of their drugs from nature.