Your body contains more than 2.5 million sweat glands all over your body. With that large of an amount, it’s no wonder the makers of Secret made it strong enough for a man.

There are also two types of sweat glands, Eccrine sweat glands which are found all over the body (but more abundant in the hands, feet and forehead area) and generally have no smell as this sweat is composed mainly of water, salt, uric acid and Vitamin C. The function of these glands is to regulate body temperature. When the sweat evaporates a large amount of body heat evaporates with it. This function is very important because if our internal temperature changes by even a few degrees it can be life threatening.

The Apocrine sweat glands are the ones that cause body odour. These are the glands that are located in the armpit and groin area. These glands lie dormant up until the wonderful years of puberty. The function of these glands, besides making you smell is still unknown. Some say that these sweat glands also contain pheromones, and that it was a primitive way of attracting a mate.

Why do these sweat glands smell? The composition of Apocrine sweat glands consists mainly of protein and fatty acids. This sweat is also odourless. So what causes the smell?

Bacteria that normally live on the skin feed off this sweat and produce that musky odour commonly termed B.O.

There are also numerous factors that control the amount of sweat your body produces.

Hereditary
Sorry to say if you fall into this category, there is not much you can do. You’ve inherited your sweat glands.

Food
Certain foods affect the composition of your sweat, a diet high in onions and hot and spicy foods typically cause your sweat to smell different.

Medications
Certain drugs increase your tendency to sweat such as aspirin and acetaminophen as well as some prescriptions.

Menopause/Low testosterone
Hot flashes-need I say more, this excessive sweating is caused by drops in the levels of estrogen. Men can also experience hot flashes when their testosterone levels are reduced.


You should pay attention to your body’s pattern of sweating because it can also be indicative of health problems. Things to look out for are a change in smell, night sweats or sweating more for no apparent reason. All of these should be discussed with your doctor.