By Richard Heft

The body digests, transforms food, nutrients into blood into structure into function, into health or disease. The body is sweet and sour by nature. The sweet smell comes from blood, food, nutrients, protein, water and sugar, which are sweet tasting. The sour smell comes from the stomach (digestion, fermentation) and or an excess of sour foods. The sweet and sour smells, and or cold, damp tissue tends to produce a musty odor. Protein and fat, especially animal and poor food combining tend to produce highly pervasive, offensive odors.

The stomach is the first digestive organ to receive and process food, nutrients. It mixes food and fluids with hydrochloric acid (HCl) and other enzymes, designed specifically to digest animal protein and fat. This mixture sits, ferments, breaks down before moving down to the small intestine, for further digestion, eventual nutrient absorption. Digestion, fermentation is a souring process, which is why everyone tends to have a slightly sour smell.

Food that spends too long of a time in the stomach tends over ferment, spoil, creating excessive sour smell that can accumulate, overflow and rise up through the throat, breath, skin, armpits, etc. Overeating, tight clothing, eating while standing up, late meals and obesity tends to weaken and slow the movement of food, creating abdominal bloating, gas, burping and sour breath. Too many sour foods (milk, yogurt, ice cream and cheese, dairy and non-dairy tend also tend to cause sour body odor.

Eating salads, fruits or and or drinking cold drinks at the beginning of the meal tends to dilute and weaken digestion, acid and enzymes, slowing the movement of food. Too many vegetables (especially raw, salads), tropical fruits, juices, sugary foods, cold drinks, etc. especially in combination with dairy products (milk, yogurt and soft cheese) also tends to weaken digestion, nutrient absorption, blood, while increasing waste (solid and liquid) as whatever food, nutrients not digested becomes waste. This type of waste, dampness, in the extreme (loose stools, diarrhea and constipation), tends to produce sweet, sour and or musty body odors. Low protein and low fat diets, in the extreme, also tend to weaken, slow all function, including digestion, movement of food.

Too many grains (pasta, bread, pastry, etc.), especially in combination with oil, fat and sugar, tend to collect and clog the small and large intestines, just like excess cholesterol collects and clogs the arteries. The clog, accumulated matter (bread, pizza dough, cookies, chips, etc.) tends to be moist, damp and sweet. In the extreme, it tends to produce sweet, damp and musty body odor. It can also heat up and produce hot, damp and smelly rashes in the armpits and or groin. Avoid alcohol (beer, wine, etc.) and ice cream as both worsen dampness, body odor, rashes, etc. Animal foods, oil, etc. in excess, tend to produce damp heat.

The musty, sweet smell is a stale, moldy smell, usually associated with dampness. Damp diets (low protein, low fat and high carbohydrate), obesity, edema, cellulite, inactivity and or bulimia increase stagnant pools of dampness and or deteriorated tissues throughout the body creating a sweet, musty body odor.

The middle diet, meal plan adjusted accordingly is recommended. Cooked foods and spices (cardamom, cumin, coriander, fennel, cayenne, turmeric, etc.) increase digestion, metabolism, burning, drying of excess fluids, damp, sugar, sour smell. Spices burn, dry dampness, Bitter herbs also drain dampness, but are very cooling (contraindicated for weak, cold digestion). Cold, weak digestion tends to cause dampness. Reduce all damp foods: dairy: milk, yogurt, cheese, pizza, salads, cold drinks, alcohol, etc. Do not overeat. Take a walk after you eat. Be patient, as it will take months and or years of good eating to eliminate old, diseased tissues and rebuild, replace with new healthy smelling tissues.

About The Author

Acupuncture Physician (FL 1992- 2002). author, Hot and Cold Health and Disease. Available Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Hot-Cold-Health-Richard-Heft/dp/0974791709 unless secure, confident and happy with doctors, drugs, surgery, insurance and nursing homes.