healthy body tips

Body odour is a vital function of the body and helped use survive during the caveman days. Here are 12 facts on body odour:

1. Men’s Body Odour is a Turn-on for Women.
Body Odour has been found by researchers to contain a compound that causes emotional and physiological changes in women. The chemical called androstadienone is a male chemical released in sweat. It is also released after a run where it’s released in post run perspiration. The chemical spikes her arousal and releases a hormone which stimulates ovulation. The underarm odour also improves her mood, increases her cortisol and will increase sexual arousal.

2. Sweat doesn’t smell
The body odour you produce doesn’t directly come from sweat as sweat is odourless. There are two types of sweat your body produces these are eccrine sweat and apocrine sweat. The eccrine sweat is the clear sweat that consists mostly of water and is used to regulate body temperature. The apocrine sweat is produced from the onset of puberty, it’s produced in the glands and is much thicker and is located in the groin area and underarms. The sweat is just a good environment for bacteria on the skin to thrive and duplicate, it doesn’t actually produce an odour.

3. Body odour can indicate a Health Problem
People have their own individual body odour and it’s possible to tell if there is something wrong with you by that smell. Its know that if you have a fruity body odour it may indicate you have diabetes and if you have a bleachy smell it can be related to a kidney or liver disease.

4. Less Body Odour for Asians
East Asian people have smaller apocrine glands and less hair follicle where the sweat is collected. It’s more of a problem for European and African people.

5. Your Body Odour is Unique
Body Odour for people is linked to their genes which is different for each and every person. Even if you eat lots of strong spicy foods it won’t matter you will still be able to trace your specific odour.

6. Children don’t produce Body Odour
The apocrine gland only comes into use when children enter puberty around 9-14 and this is the type of sweat that gives off the odour. When the child enters puberty the androgen hormone comes into use and actives the sweat glands that make the odour.

7. Women Can Sense Body Odour Easier
It’s known that women can sense body odour easier and they are more sensitive to the quality and difference in smell. Women can recognise a body odour even if it’s masked by antiperspirant. They have such a good smell because of its evolutionary importance, one of them being that they can tell who their babies are by their smell.

8. Men and Womens Odour Smell Differently
Mens sweat contains high levels of fatty acid which gives off the smell of cheese when mixed with the bacteria from under the arm. For women their sweat contains higher levels of sulphur, and when mixed with the bacteria from sweat creates thiol that has the smell of an onion.

9. Humans are Chosen Sexually by their Odour
Body odour is a significantly important factor for humans to choose a mate as it signals your sexual attraction. This is because we are attracted to people with different immune systems to our own, meaning that their off spring will have a better chance of survival due to the diverse immune system.

10. Body Odour Hints Your Diet
It’s easy to trace foods that are spicy as they consist of compounds that will remain in sweat. Foods like garlic, onion, curry and cumin are some common ones. The body odour would only be produced if you ate large amounts of these foods; they can sometimes stay in the system for longer than 24 hours.

11. Women Smell like Onions while Men Smell like Cheese
A curious study conducted by researchers at Firmenich, a company in Geneva revealed that women's body odor contained high levels of sulphur compound, which together with bacteria, feeding on sweat, produces chemical compound thiol that has a smell of onion. According to their findings, men's sweat was found to contain high levels of fatty acid, which when mixed with bacteria from the underarm, produces the smell, resembling cheese.

12. Your Body Odor is Unique as Fingerprint
Your body produces one of its kind odor, irrespective of what you eat. Individual odortypes are genetically determined odors of each person, containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that give you an odor different from others, just like fingerprints or DNA sample. Scientists are working at creating special devices to identify individual odortypes to find criminals, terrorists or missing children.

As we all know, communication is essential in society. Advancements in technology have transformed the way that we correspond with others in the modern world, yet when conversing face-to-face, it's not only speech we verbalize that matters. Body language is truly a language of its own. We all have quirks and habits that are uniquely our own. What does your body language say about you? And what can you learn about others by becoming aware of what some of the signs mean?

I thought it would be fun to list some of the well-known signs that body language experts study and recognize. It is said that when talking to a person the information that we receive can be broken down as:

10% from what the person actually says
40% from the tone and speed of voice
50% is from their body language.

HEAD

Lowering one's head can signal a lack of confidence. If someone lowers their head when complimented, they may be shy or timid


Touching or tugging at one's ear can indicate indecisiveness


Sincere smiles encompass the whole face (noticeable in the eyes)


A false smile usually only engages the lips


Tilting one's head can symbolize interest in something or someone


Overly tilted heads can be a sign of sympathy


Closing of eyes or pinching at the bridge of one's nose is often done when making a negative evaluation


When a listener nods, this is usually a positive message and relays that they are interested and paying attention


However, excessive nodding can imply that the listener has lost interest but doesn't want to be rude


Touching/rubbing one's nose may indicate doubtfulness or rejection of an idea


Sticking out one's chin toward another may show defiance


Resting a hand on one's cheek is often done if they are thinking or pondering; and stroking the chin can mean the person is trying to make a decision

UPPER BODY

Pushing back one's shoulders can demonstrate power and courage


Open arms means one is comfortable with being approached and willing to talk/communicate


Folded arms show that there is a sort of barricade between them and other people (or their surroundings) and indicate dissatisfaction


Resting one's arms behind their neck shows that they are open to what is being discussed and interested in listening more


Pointing one's finger can be construed as aggression or assertiveness


Touching the front of the neck can show that someone is interested and concerned about what another is saying


Hand movements that are upward & outward signify positive and open messages


Palms that are faced outwards towards another indicate one's wish to stop and not approach


If one's fingers are interlaced or if the finger tips are pressed together, it usually shows that a person is thinking and evaluating


If offering ideas to other people, many times the sides of one's palms are close together, with fingers extended

LOWER BODY


Putting your hands on your hips can show eagerness and readiness (also, at times, aggression)


Hips pushed forward, while leaning back can show that one feels powerful (also can be a suggestive gesture)


A wide stance - where one's feet are positioned far apart - signifies more power and dominance


When one sits with legs open and part, they might feel secure in their surroundings


Crossed legs can mean several things: relaxed/comfortable, or defensive - depending on how tense the leg muscles are


When you cross your legs towards another person, you are showing more interest in them than when they are crossed away in the other direction


A confident and powerful position is the "Figure of Four Cross" when one's ankle is atop the other leg's knee and the top leg is pointed sideways


Bouncing your foot if your legs are crossed can show that you are bored or losing patience

EYES

The lowering of the eyes can convey fear, guilt or submission


Lowered eyebrows and squinted eyes illustrate an attempt at understanding what is being said or going on


A lack of confidence or apprehensiveness can be displayed when you don't look another person in the eyes


One tends to blink more often if nervous or trying to evaluate someone else


If you look directly into another person's eyes you are displaying self-assurance


Wide eyes show more of an interest in a subject or person


If you are irritated with a comment made by another during a conversation, a common movement is to take a quick glance sideways


Staring at someone can be an aggressive gesture or suggest that the one staring feels dominant


Recalling a memory is usually done by looking up and to the right


Looking directly upwards can indicate that one is thinking


Eye contact is normally broken if someone feels insulted by another