Enhance your knowledge about probiotics for body odor and bad breath to know how probiotics help with these conditions. Keep reading to find out!
Reasons for Body Odor
The human body produces various substances which are essential for normal bodily functions. Small quantities of these substances do not have noticeable smells, but an accumulation of these substances can cause evident smells. Body odors are more prominent during puberty in obese individuals and those with certain medical disorders like diabetes.
The sweat produced by skin glands is odorless, unpleasant odors can emanate when bacteria break down the proteins in the sweat into acids. The areas of the body most likely to give off odor are armpits, feet, groin, genitals, navel, anus, hair, and the back of the ears.
The factors contributing to a person’s body odor are diet, personal hygiene, health conditions, and certain medications. There are various methods to reduce or prevent body odors. Washing your body regularly with soap and water and drying it thoroughly is one of the first ways to prevent body odor. Wearing light-colored cotton clothes to absorb sweat and reflect heat keeps your body cool and odor-free.
Why Unpleasant Body Odor
Shaving the hair in the armpits and groin can facilitate faster evaporation of sweat in these areas and prevent bacteria from acting on the sweat. Antiperspirants and deodorants also help reduce sweat and the activity of bacteria. Feet encased in socks and shoes for long hours also cause sweat to build up. The warmth and humidity aid bacterial proliferation.
It is essential to wash and dry feet thoroughly and have a regular change of fresh socks. Onions, chilies, and garlic in your diet can also cause your sweat to smell strong. Limiting their intake helps to curb body odor.
If you suffer from excessive sweating, your doctor may recommend antiperspirants containing aluminum chloride or botox injection and even surgery in extreme cases. Excessive sweating and body odor can sometimes point to underlying medical conditions like thyroid problems, liver disease, kidney problems, or diabetes. It is better to seek medical advice if you suffer from night sweats, excessive sweating, cold sweats, or notice a change in body odor.
Reasons for Bad Breath
Bad breath, known medically as halitosis, is socially embarrassing and can cause relationship problems. The most common cause of bad breath is poor oral hygiene. The food particles left in the mouth later break down by the bacteria to form foul-smelling sulfur compounds.
Other causes include
- Smoking
- Eating pungent foods like onions and garlic
- Dry mouth
- Plaque build-up on your teeth
- Gum disease
- Ill-maintained dentures
- Crash diets
- Certain drugs
- Nose, throat, and also sinus infections
- Stomach, liver, and lung problems
- Certain diseases like cancer and acid reflux.
The best methods to prevent bad breath include regular teeth brushing, flossing, tongue cleaning, and regular visits to your dentist. Professional cleaning of teeth twice yearly and hygienically maintained dentures can help prevent bad breath. Simultaneously, avoid spicy foods and sugar and limit coffee content in your daily diet. Hydrate your mouth and eat raw fruits while avoiding alcohol as precautionary steps.
If bad breath persists even after following the above methods, consult your doctor to determine other underlying health conditions. The more serious causes include ketoacidosis which results from very low insulin levels, vomiting associated with bowel obstruction, bronchiectasis, and aspiration pneumonia.
Probiotics for Body Odor and Bad Breath
There are different kinds of bacteria numbering in billions living on our skin. They are essential to keep us healthy and fight infection. Among the bacteria present in your armpits, some are beneficial to our skin, while some bacteria are responsible for breaking down sweat to produce body odors.
When there is a balance between the types of bacteria, everything is fine. With excessive washing, deodorant, and antiperspirant use, sometimes the good bacteria are wiped out. When the odor-causing bacteria become too many because of imbalance, body odor becomes prominent.
Probiotic deodorants are the latest remedy. It is packed with living good bacteria to keep the harmful bacteria in check and prevent body malodor. It is a safe and natural treatment to introduce good bacteria into the armpit microbiome and avoid unpleasant body odors.
Probiotics can restore the balance of bacteria in your oral cavity and eliminate the harmful breath-causing bacteria. Probiotic lozenges contain a strain of good bacteria that effectively reduce the bacteria’s growth, which causes bad breath. These good bacteria also reduce the incidence of gingivitis, pharyngitis, candidiasis, and dental decay. These in turn can all cause bad breath.
This is how you can use probiotics for bad odor and bad breath to keep these conditions at bay.