Body odor

[Zoey000]

Hello everyone ,  

Does anyone have body odor issue when eating food that contains gluten, because the minute I accidentally eat gluten I experience severe body odor and it can last weeks. Iam not sure if it’s related to gluten.

[cyclinglady]

2 hours ago, Zoey000 said:

Hello everyone ,  

Does anyone have body odor issue when eating food that contains gluten, because the minute I accidentally eat gluten I experience severe body odor and it can last weeks. Iam not sure if it’s related to gluten.

Welcome!  

If you suspect celiac disease, consider getting tested:

http://www.cureceliacdisease.org/screening/

However, celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder.  It takes often days for antibodies to build and for symptoms to develop.  If symptoms are swift, then maybe it is an allergy.   I have not heard of BO as a result of celiac disease, but I have heard of things like garlic that can come off as body odor.  

[V123]

On 3/1/2018 at 5:58 PM, Zoey000 said:

Hello everyone ,  

Does anyone have body odor issue when eating food that contains gluten, because the minute I accidentally eat gluten I experience severe body odor and it can last weeks. Iam not sure if it’s related to gluten.

I am not a diagnosed celiac, I have been on a gluten free diet since a week ago suggested by dietician. My endoscopy was negative but my IGA blood tests were abnormal. I do experience really bad body odor as well, not sure if it’s related to gluten or not but so far no difference in BO. I’m hoping it is gluten, but I will tell you if I notice it to subside as I further continue a gluten free diet! Do you know what the BO is described as?

[plumbago]

On 4/6/2018 at 9:47 AM, V123 said:

I am not a diagnosed celiac, I have been on a gluten free diet since a week ago suggested by dietician. My endoscopy was negative but my IGA blood tests were abnormal. I do experience really bad body odor as well, not sure if it’s related to gluten or not but so far no difference in BO. I’m hoping it is gluten, but I will tell you if I notice it to subside as I further continue a gluten free diet! Do you know what the BO is described as?

Just a suggestion, not an answer, but I have heard that the body's difficulty breaking down certain proteins may contribute to a different sort of body odor. I'm surprised your doctor would not have suggested that (assuming he/she agreed it was a problem).

Plumbago

[V123]

11 hours ago, plumbago said:

Just a suggestion, not an answer, but I have heard that the body's difficulty breaking down certain proteins may contribute to a different sort of body odor. I'm surprised your doctor would not have suggested that (assuming he/she agreed it was a problem).

Plumbago

I haven’t said anything to any of them, though they have probably detected it

[Zoey000]

On 4/6/2018 at 4:47 PM, V123 said:

I am not a diagnosed celiac, I have been on a gluten free diet since a week ago suggested by dietician. My endoscopy was negative but my IGA blood tests were abnormal. I do experience really bad body odor as well, not sure if it’s related to gluten or not but so far no difference in BO. I’m hoping it is gluten, but I will tell you if I notice it to subside as I further continue a gluten free diet! Do you know what the BO is described as?

Hello, sorry for the very late reply I was wondering  does the body odor subside or not ? Because I just started gluten free diet and i hope it can reduce my body odor 

Edited August 15, 2018 by Zoey000

[Ennis-TX]

1 hour ago, Zoey000 said:

Hello, sorry for the very late reply I was wondering  does the body odor subside or not ? Because I just started gluten free diet and i hope it can reduce my body odor 

With BO it normally comes down to digestive issues and  breaking down certain foods that either, ferment, rot, or have chemical compounds that do not get broken down right and lead to the odor. Common culprits can be, gluten, dairy, meat, turmeric. While I do not eat meat often due to pancreas enzyme issues, I do notice a ammonia, sulfur, almost cat urine smell if I eat poultry, or red meat.

[LilyR]

When I got the sudden bad stomach/digestion flare up last year (before I knew I had gluten sensitivity) I was having bad under arm odor.  It was driving my crazy, and I assumed it was related to my health issues. I was really sick with a fever for a year and a half and so on.  Once I stopped eating gluten, I have noticed the BO has greatly improved.  This past week I accidentally got glutened somehow, my stomach issues are all flared up and I feel horribly sick, and go figure, yes, the BO has returned.  So I do think there is a definite connection for me.  Perhaps for you too. 

On another note, when I take a lot of vitamins, especially iron, I also have a stronger BO, although it's a little different than the sick/glutned BO.  Also when I take a strong B complex, I tend to smell it in my BO a little.  But the worst, strongest smell is when I am sick with gluten.  I also seem to smell my urine more strongly when I am dealing with gluten symptoms.  I can smell the foods I recently ate. It annoys me, but once I heal from the gluten, it gets better.  It is embarrassing to talk about, but it is nice we can share things here on this site. Some symptoms doctors don't even seem to believe or understand, or they act like they never heard that before.  So this message board is so helpful to share with people who actually are experiencing the disease/sensitivity.  It could take you a few months to feel better and notice the BO get better too, but I bet you will notice the smell gets much better, even back to normal. 

[Paula$]

I think I can relate. I'm lactose intolerant, but I'm also not dealing well with gluten. I'm going to the doctor next week. I've been eating gluten free for weeks, today I had a really small dose of gluten and all the symptoms came back. Including the body odor! Yesterday I had sushi at night, and I had gluten today at lunch. And it's like my body, my sweat, smells of sushi. Also, this is a bit TMI, but I got all bloated, weird loud stomach noises, gas and farts, all the usual, but my farts smell so badly of sushi. A day after I ate it! It's terrible. And I only ate a small tuna patty with a little bit of flour in the ingredients. Seriously, I smell my skin, and I smell like sushi. It's so weird.

[LeslieNYC]

Yes! Recently confirmed celiac disease and starting to put things together. When I accidentally consume gluten my body odor changes to an onion smell. It’s disgusting but typically only lasts for 12-24 hours depending on amount consumed. Showers, cleaning doesn’t help, it’s coming from the inside so only time will subdue the odor. 
Hope you’re getting some answers! Good to know I’m not the only one. 

[knitty kitty]

@LeslieNYC,

I get altered body odor when I get glutened, too.  

Frequently, the odor is caused by bacteria in the intestines that produce lots of sulfur gas when "fed" carbohydrates like gluten and veggies that contain lots of sulfur (broccoli, asparagus, cabbage, onion, garlic,etc.) and proteins high in sulfur like fish and eggs.  

Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) should be suspected.  Changing your diet to a high protein/low carbohydrate diet (like the Autoimmune Protocol Paleo diet) can help alter the intestinal bacteria, effectively starving out those carbohydrates-loving bacteria which produce lots of sulfur containing stinky gases.  

Probiotics that contain Bifido bacteria and Lactobacillis bacteria can help change your intestinal flora, too.

Also, get checked by your dentist for any oral infections.  And get checked for other infections of the urinary tract (UTI's).  

Hope this helps!

 

 

 

[MrPete]

On 8/23/2021 at 5:13 PM, LeslieNYC said:

Yes! Recently confirmed celiac disease and starting to put things together. When I accidentally consume gluten my body odor changes to an onion smell. It’s disgusting but typically only lasts for 12-24 hours depending on amount consumed. Showers, cleaning doesn’t help, it’s coming from the inside so only time will subdue the odor. 
Hope you’re getting some answers! Good to know I’m not the only one. 

Hi! I know it’s been a while since you posted this but I’ve been dealing with this issue for 3 years! Not knowing what is causing this! But this is making sense now… I have to get tested… I had a plain hamburger on Monday and Tuesday my onion like odor was crazy but only my wife can smell it, not me! But this is happening almost everything and getting worst :(

[Scott Adams]

Welcome @MrPete, others have reported this as a symptom, although it would not make the list of the most common symptoms. Here is more info on blood tests for celiac disease, and note that you need to keep eating gluten on a daily basis until all celiac disease testing is completed:

 

[Hayley34]

On 3/1/2018 at 5:58 PM, Zoey000 said:

Hello everyone ,  

Does anyone have body odor issue when eating food that contains gluten, because the minute I accidentally eat gluten I experience severe body odor and it can last weeks. Iam not sure if it’s related to gluten.

I have noticed since I gave up wheat that my body odor is very little!!!

[Sannino]

On 8/27/2018 at 2:21 PM, LilyR said:

When I got the sudden bad stomach/digestion flare up last year (before I knew I had gluten sensitivity) I was having bad under arm odor.  It was driving my crazy, and I assumed it was related to my health issues. I was really sick with a fever for a year and a half and so on.  Once I stopped eating gluten, I have noticed the BO has greatly improved.  This past week I accidentally got glutened somehow, my stomach issues are all flared up and I feel horribly sick, and go figure, yes, the BO has returned.  So I do think there is a definite connection for me.  Perhaps for you too. 

On another note, when I take a lot of vitamins, especially iron, I also have a stronger BO, although it's a little different than the sick/glutned BO.  Also when I take a strong B complex, I tend to smell it in my BO a little.  But the worst, strongest smell is when I am sick with gluten.  I also seem to smell my urine more strongly when I am dealing with gluten symptoms.  I can smell the foods I recently ate. It annoys me, but once I heal from the gluten, it gets better.  It is embarrassing to talk about, but it is nice we can share things here on this site. Some symptoms doctors don't even seem to believe or understand, or they act like they never heard that before.  So this message board is so helpful to share with people who actually are experiencing the disease/sensitivity.  It could take you a few months to feel better and notice the BO get better too, but I bet you will notice the smell gets much better, even back to normal. 

Hi! Thanks for sharing. Are you back to normal? I mean your body odor is normal now, have you fixed totally?