It is wise to pay attention to the way we smell because it says a lot about our health. If you have recently noticed that your sweat smells like ammonia, it’s time to look into why this is happening and find out what you can do about it. Sweat that smells like ammonia can be rather unpleasant to the people around you – but don’t worry, it is generally harmless. And there are some easy changes you can make to your diet and lifestyle that will make it go away. Let’s start with the causes of ammonia smelling sweat.
Why Your Sweat Smells Like Ammonia and How to Fix it
1. An Imbalanced Diet
Your diet has a lot to do with it. Have you been making sure that you have a balance of fats, carbs, and proteins on your plate? If you’ve got too much protein and not enough fats and carbs, that’s the likely root cause of your smelly problem. While having a low carb diet can be quite helpful if you’re trying to shed extra pounds, it causes your body to rely on proteins rather than fats and carbs to produce energy. The process of creating energy from proteins involves breaking down amino acids, which in turn creates ammonia. This ammonia leaves your body through sweat.
WHAT TO DO:
Fix Your Diet.
If your diet is the reason your sweat smells like ammonia, simply add more carbs and fats to it. You should see a difference in a matter of time. Consult your Ayurvedic doctor about what kinds of fats and carbs would work best for your dosha (mind-body constitution).
Healthy fats and carbs include:
- A variety of fruits and vegetables
- Legumes like chickpeas and kidney beans
- Nuts like peanuts and almonds
- Pumpkin seeds
- Sweet potatoes
- Whole grains like oats and brown rice
- Vegetable oils
- Tofu
On the other hand, avoid:
- Refined carbs like white bread
- Food containing processed sugar like cakes and candy
- Fried food
- Meat like beef and pork
- Cheese and butter
Also, drink loads of water to release the ammonia build up in your body.
More on eating a balanced diet.
2. Hardcore Working Out
Another common cause of your smelly sweat could be heavy exercise. If you have just started off on a new and vigorous exercise routine, your body may be generating more ammonia and sweating it out. This is because when you work out vigorously, your body starts to break down your proteins to produce energy. This leads to ammonia body odour. Moreover, if you generate loads of stress while working out, your body also tends to produce higher amounts of ammonia.
WHAT TO DO:
Well, you would have to tweak your diet in this case too. You need to eat more carbs before you begin working out, and in general as well. And try cutting down a bit on protein. Other than that, you can shower soon after you finish exercising to get rid of the odour you have generated. If that doesn’t work, you would just have to go easy on the exercise!
While the smell of ammonia in sweat is usually harmless and related to diet as well as exercise, it could sometimes indicate a serious liver or kidney condition. If your sweat continues to stink in spite of eating enough carbs and not working out excessively, and if your breath smells like it too, please visit your doctor.
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