SCIENCE 25
Could rubbing sweat on your armpits help with BO? Tanya Harrington
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Sick of the scent? Bored of the BO? Then read on.
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he average person has 2.6 million sweat glands in their body, most of which are concentrated on the bottom of their feet and areas such as the underarm. For some people, a genetic issue can cause their sweat to smell particularly bad. Sick of the scent? Bored of the BO? Then read on. A new research study conducted by the University of California, San Diego, has suggested that perhaps sufferers of severe body odour needn’t splash the cash on expensive treatments or deodorants. Instead, all they may need is to rub the “more fragrant,” sweat of a family member into their underarm area. The technique, known as the “bacteria transplant” was developed by the lead author of the study, Dr Chris Callewart. The concept of the bacteria transplant is founded in the idea that certain people cultivate different kinds of bacteria in commonly sweaty areas, some which are more smelly than others. By relocating a person’s less smelly sweat bacteria to the underarm area of those with a body odour problem, it could “trick” the body into reproducing it, instead of its own original bad-smelling bacteria. Dr Callewart first tested his theory on a set of identical twins - one who had an extreme problem with body odour, and one who did not.
Pictured: Something smells funny (Photographer: Graham Hellewell).
The twin without the body odour problems was instructed to avoid washing for a total of four days, so as to cultivate as much of his bacteria as possible. In contrast, the twin who suffered from unpleasant body odour was advised to wash rigorously with an antibacterial soap in an effort to make his underarm area as free from bacteria as possible. Dr Callewart then transplanted the sweat of the twin without a body odour problem onto the armpits of the one that did, and his theory was
proven true. The technique greatly lessened the impact of the affected twin’s body odour, and the effects of this have reportedly lasted over a year. The Doctor commented, “It’s still very experimental, but I’m sure it can work.” He may not be wrong - since the first experiment, the treatment has been trialled a total of seventeen times, with only one twin not experiencing any significant change in the scent of their body odour.
Body odour is largely a genetic problem, and many deodorants or treatments for the condition only provide temporary relief at best. However, if rubbing the sweat of a close family member under your arms doesn’t sound too appealing, there are always other things you can try to help with it. For example, cutting out fatty and oily foods from your diet and making sure you wear good quality, non-synthetic clothing has been said to help with the minimisation of unpleasant body odour.
Scientifically-designed fasting diet to lower risk of diseases Kat Pooprasert
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“Larger FDA studies are necessary to confirm its effects on disease prevention and treatment.”
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randomised clinical trial showed that a periodic, fiveday fasting diet designed by researchers might safely reduce the risk factors for common diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other age-related illnesses. The study was conducted at USC Leonard Davis school of Gerontology and involved 71 adults who were given three cycles of a low calorie, “fast-mimicking” diet. The results showed reduced cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure, inflammatory markers (CRP), fasting glucose and IGF-1. Physically, the subjects also lost weight, with a decreased waistline, and total body and trunk fat loss. Surprisingly, they
did not suffer from a loss of muscle mass. This low calorie diet was also shown to reduce the risk for cancer, diabetes and heart diseases. Valter Longo, director of the USC Longevity Institute and a professor of biological sciences for USC Davis and Dornsife concluded that “this study provides evidence that people can experience significant health benefits through a periodic, fasting-mimicking diet that is designed to act on the aging process.” He also described that “prior studies have indicated a range of health benefits in mice, but this is the first randomised clinical trial with enough participants to demonstrate that the
diet is feasible, effective and safe for humans”. Since this study is still in its prime, being a phase II trial, Dornsife warns that “larger FDA studies are necessary to confirm its effects on disease prevention and treatment.” The study subjects were divided into two main groups. The first group, also known as the control group were to continue eating their normal diet for three months. The second group involved subjects who were placed on a three-month test of the fasting-mimicking diet. They had to eat food products supplied by L-Nutra during five days each month. The fasting-mimicking diet allowed participants to eat between
750 to 1,100 calories per day. The participants in the second group significantly lost weight, with an average of around 6 pounds. Furthermore, apart from the weight, their systolic blood pressure dropped by 4.5 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure dropped by 3.1 mmHg. Their levels of IGF-1, a metabolism hormone also dropped around 21.7ng.mL to 46.2 ng/mL, a range which is associated with lowered cancer risk. Furthermore, Longo said “after the first group completed their three months on the fasting diet, we moved over participants in the control group to see if they also would experience similar results. We saw similar outcomes, which provides further evidence that a fastingmimicking diet has effects on many metabolic and disease markers. Our mouse studies using a similar fasting-mimicking diet indicate that that these beneficial effects are caused by multi-system regeneration and rejuvenation in the body at the cellular and organ levels.” It is important to keep in mind that this research is still in its early stages and is therefore inconclusive. The effects of a low calorie and fasting diet have always been controversial, and for now, meeting the daily calorie requirements as suggested by the public health, and eating proportions of a variety of food in moderation seems to be the healthiest way to go.
Pictured: The benefits of a fasting and extremely low-calorie diet is currently inconclusive as the study is still in its early stages. (Photographer: Horrace).