Everyone thinks that the sweat stink but the reality is very different: the one that smells our body when we sweat are the bacteria present on our skin that “feed” of fat and of protein and transform them into Maleoding gasesoften containing sulfur. Basically they are flatulence of bacteria to stink, not sweat in itself. In fact, there are two types of sweat: one, produced by the eccrine glands, composed for the most part from water and mineral salts. The other, secreted by apocrine glandsis more dense and oily. It is precisely the latter that generates the characteristic smell, because it is expelled through i Piliferi follicles and is enriched with sebumbecoming the ideal nourishment for bacteria. But why our body sweats? The role of sweat is essential to disperse excess heat, if not sweat, the body temperature could increase considerably, so much that it makes us “die of heat”.
Why does sweat smell? And why do the armpits have a bad smell?
Exist Two types of sweatproduced by Two different sweat glands:
- One composed mainly of waterfall and salt (sodium chloride), with traces of other defects that is produced by Eccrine glands distributed throughout the body. These glands secrete sweat directly on the skinwithout going through a hair follicle and therefore not sweat it does not contain sebum.
- Instead a more viscous sweat, always made up of water and salt, but with a small percentage of fat And proteinwhich make it more oily. It is produced by apocrine glands which are mainly found in armpitin the ano-genital region and in the breast region. It is oily because these glands secrete sweat through the hair folliclewhere there is also the sebum that is precisely fat, protein.
The bad smell, the “stinks of onion“Typical of sweat, it originated from the rich oily sweat whose fats and proteins that become nutrients for skin bacteria. The sweat of the arms, which does not contain sebum, does not have the unpleasant smell. But why does the smell of the armpits recall that of the onion? The answer is in the presence of the sulfur. In sweat there is a amino acid containing sulfur, called cysteinewhich is transformed by bacteria into tiolithat is, molecules very very similar to those freed from the onion. The same thing as stinks of feet cheese: In this case it is not the fault of the sulfur, but of short chain fatty acids. Obviously it is only a coincidence, there is no link between us humans and onions or cheese.
There chemical composition of sweat could change according to what we eatand therefore our smell after, for example, we eat spicy could change. But even here not because sweat stinks, but because the proteins and fats contained in sweat can depend on what we eat.
Why do some people smell more than others? Age, sex and hormones
The fact that some people smell more than others depends on several factors; For example, the apocrine glands, those that secrete oily sweat, already exist from birthbut they are inactive up to puberty And that’s why teenagers have a stronger smell. Therefore during sexual maturation, that is, when you pass from childhood to adulthood, more oily sweat is produced And therefore you can stink more. The women then, due to hormonal changescould have an extra production of oily apocrine sweat and therefore more stinking before or during the menstruation.
Also the emotional stimuliin addition to the lack of hygiene and cleaning, they are a factor. In fact, there is the “thermal” sweat which depends only on the fact that there is hot outside and that is stimulated by the glands of the age, those that do not smell, and the “emotional” sweatwhich is stimulated by the sweat glands apocrine in response to stimuli such as anxiety, pain, sexual excitement and stress. This is why we sweat and stink more when we are agitated.
Overall, there are some areas of our body in which it sweats more than othersthe reason is the distribution of the glands. Each person has between 2 and 5 million of sweat glands distributed on the body, so those who have more and those less. In addition to the number, it is necessary to consider the speed with which these glands produce sweat, which makes the sweating of each individual other than the others.
