The Truth About Body Odor & How to Naturally Get Rid of It

Maybe you’ve tried all the natural deodorants, but nothing’s working to get rid of your body odor! It can be both frustrating and embarrassing, as deodorants often seem to just mask the scent. You’re wondering – Is there a way to naturally get rid of body odor? No more masking. No more constant reapplying. 

Causes of Body Odor

When my clients complain of excessive body odor, I find it’s often related to congested liver pathways, ammonia issues, or overgrowth of parasites and pathogens. It could be one of them, or a combination of them. 

To get to the root cause of body odor issues, testing is wise. A stool test is the first place I turn. This will shed light on whether or not there could be parasites, pathogens, fungal overgrowth, or some kind of dysbiosis behind your body odor. (Note, you can get access to the best stool testing in functional medicine as well as 1:1 consults to go through results via the TDW Community.)

Supporting the liver and its detox measures is always a good idea, especially if dealing with body odor. Keep reading for my favorite liver support supplement!

10 Steps for Eliminating Body Odor

Can I start with a disclaimer? As with many things, sometimes it gets worse before it can get better! When you’re detoxing whatever is causing your body odor, it needs to come out of your body. The 10 steps below will help walk you through the process, but you might experience an initial period of increased body odor as your body is ridding pathogens, fungi, overgrowth, etc. I still can’t encourage you enough – stick with it! 

Do an Armpit Detox

I always suggest doing an armpit detox (or several!) before switching to a natural deodorant (more on that below). It helps smooth the transition. 

Doing an armpit detox once a week can help your body get back to its natural state of cleaner perspiration faster. It can help eliminate old bacteria and chemical residue build up. This build up can accumulate from toxins that you put into it or on your body, especially through things like poor diet and conventional deodorant usage. An armpit detox can clear pores and deeper into the tissue.

An easy recipe for an at home armpit detox:

• 1 Tbsp bentonite clay **
• 1 tsp organic apple cider vinegar
• 1-2 tsp filtered water in a bowl

Mix all ingredients together to form a paste, and apply to underarms. Let it sit for 5-20 minutes or until dry. Wash it off in the shower or with a warm, wet washcloth and repeat as needed until underarm odor goes away!

**If you find that clay is irritating to your skin, you may sub coconut oil as an alternative binder. 

Use Primally Pure Charcoal Deodorant 

My top tip when seeking to reduce body odor is to switch to a natural, non-toxic deodorant. I know, I know, you’re concerned it won’t work. If that’s you, then keep reading! Also, I will say that many natural deodorants I’ve tried haven’t made the cut. My tried, true, and holy grail natural deodorant (for years now) will always be Primally Pure’s Charcoal Deodorant (use code TAYLORDUKES). 

It can also be a good idea at times to switch up your natural deodorant. For example, you can alternate between Primally Pure’s Charcoal Deodorant and their Blue Tansy Deodorant (use code TAYLORDUKES). This can help keep body odor at bay, as your body doesn’t adjust fully to one or the other. 

I want to point out that natural deodorants allow your underarms to sweat. And this is a good and natural thing. Antiperspirants may mask body odor and stop the sweat, but this often is at the expense of trapping toxins inside the body. 

I am a huge advocate of wearing natural deodorant long-term to reduce toxic exposure of chemicals like aluminum, parabens, fragrances, and other chemical junk found in most conventional deodorants. 

One final note on deodorant. When possible, go without! If you have a day you know you’ll be at home without social and/or work engagements, give your underarms a break! It’s good to allow your underarms to breathe. I love going deo-free whenever possible to keep from any sort of product buildup.

Reduce Toxic Load

Toxins can build up in the body and eventually cause body odor. The liver and kidneys may find it difficult to keep up with the amount of toxins coming into the body, so toxins must “escape” via sweat, and this leads to increased body odor. 

Easy ways to reduce your toxic exposure:

• Use glass food storage containers instead of plastic
• Drink from glass or stainless steel
• Turn off wifi at night
• Opt for non-toxic lawn care
• Switch to non-toxic personal products
• Use non-toxic laundry + cleaning products
• Buy organic produce when you can
• Drink filtered water
• Off-gas new furniture

Take Supreme Nutrition Melia 

Take one capsule, twice daily of Supreme Nutrition Melia for 60-90 days to help rid the body of pathogens that might be causing body odor. You can purchase this product at www.DSSOrders.com/TaylorDukes using registration code: TD4699. 

Take TDW Liver Support

Supporting the liver is always beneficial for helping the body detoxify and excrete toxins efficiently. Your liver is your largest detox organ and arguably one of the hardest working but often overlooked. As I said earlier, oftentimes excessive body odor is directly related to liver congestion. I suggest taking 2-3 capsules of TDW Liver Support , twice daily for 2-3 months alongside your other detox measures. 

Take Chlorella as an Internal Deodorizer

I love Chlorella Caps by Biotics Research, which you can find on Fullscript, for an internal deodorizer. Take 3 capsules daily on an empty stomach for 2-3 months to increase the speed and efficiency of body odor detoxification. 

Use a Binder

A binder is incredibly helpful in reducing symptoms and severity of detoxification. My favorite binder is TDW Bind. Take 2 capsules daily on an empty stomach for the duration of your armpit detoxification measures. 

Wear Cotton or Natural Fibers

Cotton and natural fibers allow your body/pores to breathe as much as possible. This helps with reducing bacteria and odors, especially in areas that might be entirely covered in fabric. Better yet, go sleeveless when possible, and give your armpits a break from deodorant when at home! I love Pact Organic for affordable organic clothing and undergarments. MATE the Label also makes some of the most quality and comfortable organic clothing I’ve ever worn. 

Eat Well

What goes in must come out. If you are filling up on highly processed, inflammatory foods filled with toxins and chemicals, they will need to escape your body somehow! You can actually cut down on your body odor significantly by eating real, whole, unprocessed foods. You can check out all my healthy, nourishing recipes here.

Reduce Stress

The release of cortisol (stress hormone!) can increase body odor. Stress triggers the release of cortisol and other stress hormones, which can lead to stress sweat. Stress sweat contains nutrients that bacteria feed on, which can cause odor. The more you get ahead of your stress and practice proactive stress management measures, the more you’ll decrease body odor. Check out this article on taking care of your nervous system to learn all about healthily minimizing stress!

Deeper Detox Support Resources

• What Causes Poor Detox Pathways? 10 Tips on How to Open Detox Pathways
• 12 Daily Detox Practices to Reduce Inflammation
• TDW Community: We’ve been walking together in-depth, covering all sorts of detox measures from a community-wide parasite cleanse to “how-to’s” surrounding more detox practices! 

Stay Updated on All Things Wellness

At Taylor Dukes Wellness, we are always working on new ways to serve you on your health journey. Be the first to learn about new healthy living resources, blog posts, and TDW offerings, by getting on my insider list here.