Body Odor

[Wife726]

My husband does not have Celiac disease; he went gluten-free 6 months ago to improve joint pain and arthritis (it worked). However since then he has gotten increasingly stinky. His breath is awful even post brushing and his skin smells stale and kind of rancid. He has no hygiene issues and his labs show nothing. Had anyone had this happen before? It's incredibly off-putting, but this new way of eating makes him feel a lot better so I feel stuck. Advice? Suggestions? Thank you.

[cyclinglady]

I am pretty sure it is not related to being gluten free. He must have some underlying medical condition (e.g. Liver, kidney, diabetes), excess weight, or eating spicy foods (that includes Brussel sprouts, broccoli and not just garlic), etc. What did he start eating more of when he gave up gluten? Too much meat?

My hubby and i do not have this issue and we are gluten free because we have celiac disease.

My dog's breath is very bad despite getting teeth cleanings twice a year. We suspect she has cancer as she has many lumps and bumps. She is old, so treating her is out of the question and our vet agrees. Not saying that your husband has cancer, but many things can impact breath and body odor.

Good luck in finding a cause.

[CajunChic]

Has he been eating a lot of meat? Particularly red meat? My doctor told me that was a cause when I found I was more smelly after workouts than normal. I cut back on meats and added more plant protein and it was gone. I hope y'all find the root of his issue!

[Wife726]

Thank you everyone for replying. We are vegetarian and eat mostly organic. He's an athlete and his latest bloodwork shows he's in excellent health. The only thing I can relate to the body odor is that it didn't start until he went gluten-free.

[nvsmom]

When I lose weight I stink. Is he losing some weight?

[Wife726]

This weight has been stable. He may have lost 4 or 5 Lbs initially but nothing since then. I'm going to have him keep a food diary to see if anything stands out.

[cyclinglady]

Research online. There are many reasons for a significant change in body odor or bad breath but going gluten free is not one of them.

Good luck!

[beth01]

When I lose weight I stink. Is he losing some weight?

I hope this wasn't me for the last few years and I just didn't know it or no one told me, I've lost more than I weigh now!

[nvsmom]

I hope this wasn't me for the last few years and I just didn't know it or no one told me, I've lost more than I weigh now!

 

That's impressive!! Wow! 

[Waitingindreams]

I can't really help you on the skin thing...I sometimes randomly have armpit odor (before applying deodorant) and sometimes I don't. It's like it just depends on whatever my body wants to do. I also use an all natural, aluminum free/antiperspirant free deodorant, so I could still be detoxing.

 

But as for the breath...here is what my story is. (I am not a vegetarian, but I only eat chicken and turkey occasionally - no red meat or pork and rarely, RARELY seafood) After dating my boyfriend for a couple of months, he told me that I have bad breath. Um. What? I go to the dentist every 6 months. Never had a cavity. I brush my teeth every day, twice a day. Never once had anyone else tell me that i have bad breath, and I figured if I had bad breath, I'd 'know' it, wouldn't I? I brushed it off and assumed it was due to eating garlic or onions occasionally. Nope. So then I went crazy trying to pinpoint what foods could be causing my bad breath. I found out that whenever I ate large amounts of dairy without taking my lactaid pills (I am lactose intolerant) that my breath seemed to be bad (I would 'test' it with him) my breath would be bad even if i went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth right before. So I gave up dairy and hoped that would be the end of it...as it was extremely embarrassing, especially with my diligent dental hygiene. But no...it would still be on/off bad. Really bad at times. Salsa and salad dressing also triggered it. I finally went to the doctor and he told me I had acid reflux/GERD. He gave me samples of Pepcid to try. That made it worse. I was really getting frustrated.

 

Finally, I went to a naturopath and he discovered that I have a hiatal hernia. He adjusted it for me...and then all symptoms of bad breath were gone. I even was able to eat a rather large amount of dairy without the bad breath returning...but unfortunately the hernia slid back. I don't want to keep getting this adjusted (and I don't want to have the surgery) so I am trying to lose a good amount of weight and then have it readjusted. I also realized I have low stomach acid (which causes GERD - not high stomach acid) so eating apple cider vinegar temporarily raises my stomach acid and prevents/stops bad breath. For example, I can eat a marinara sauce with garlic in it if I have a salad along with it using homemade apple cider vinegar dressing. No bad breath. If i eat too much fat, it also triggers bad breath (like if I eat a lot of almond butter) so I try to either lower the amount of almond butter I eat, or eat it around when I eat apple cider vinegar. 

 

I really want to find permanent solutions to get rid of the hiatal hernia. I know weight loss/management is a good start. I gained about 60 pounds in a 2 month period when all of my health issues hit me. I was severely bloated (and still have bloating issues periodically, but less frequently and not as bad) at my smallest (before everything escalated) I was a size 8 - I am now a size 10. (getting close! ) I feel a size 4 or 6 might be my best bet to keep a smaller weight and prevent my hernia from coming back. It is extremely frustrating. I really don't want the surgery, since the hernia can still come back after the surgery and obviously other complications can arise...I'd rather just do it naturally and have him adjust it for me again. So on his end - it could be low stomach acid and/or a hiatal hernia. I never would have guessed that was causing my issues.

 

I hope you can figure out what is causing his bad breath issues! It is extremely embarrassing and disheartening to deal with it. I was mortified. I still am - I have enough to deal with as it is!

[beth01]

That's impressive!! Wow!

Not really impressive, kind of scary. I didn't change my diet or exercise and lost 168 pounds. I also didn't change my diet or exercise to gain that much weight either lol. Celiac is messed up.

[nvsmom]

Not really impressive, kind of scary. I didn't change my diet or exercise and lost 168 pounds. I also didn't change my diet or exercise to gain that much weight either lol. Celiac is messed up.

 Definitely!