January 3, 2021 • 6 mins
Body odor happens when bacteria thrive in our sweat, so the ways your clothes deal with sweat can make a difference. Learn more in this classic episode of BrainStuff.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey
brain Stuff, Lauren vogel Bomb here with another classic episode
from our archives. Lots of athletic wear and outdoors gear
is labeled with claims that it will help wig away
sweat and keep you smelling as fresh as if you
just stepped out of the shower. In this episode, we
look at how those claims can possibly be true and
(00:25):
how they can sometimes fall through. Hey there, brain Stuff,
Lauren vogel bomb here. If you're preparing for a hike,
especially one that involves sleeping under the stars, every last
thing you pack should be questioned, will you need rain gear?
One walking sticker to which freeze dried snacks are actually
tasty enough to eat. One essential rule from experienced hikers
(00:48):
is no cotton clothing. Clothes made of cotton can act
as a sponge. The material soaks up sweat and holds
moisture next to the skin, which eliminates the insulating effect
of the cotton, causes skin ear tation and eventually leads
to copious amounts of body odor. A body odor isn't
a personal affront. Every adult whose body temperature becomes high
(01:09):
enough to cause certain glands to secrete fluid onto the
surface of the skin is at risk for emanating at
least a little bit, and it isn't without purpose. Sweat
produced by the acrine glands that cover most of the
body helps regulate body temperature, while the milki or fluid
released by the apocrine glands in the armpits and growing
area is a signal that the body is under stress.
(01:29):
Apocrene glands are primarily responsible for body odor, and although
acrine glands secrete primarily odorless sweat, the smell produced by
this sweat changes over time. Perspiration acts as a magnet
to bacteria on the skin, and these bacteria use it
as a fuel to multiply. When the growing numbers of
bacteria metabolize the sweat, they produce a smelly byproduct commonly
(01:52):
called body odor. Clearly, cotton isn't the right choice for
working up a sweat, since it can actually make body
odor worse. But what about other types of fabrics? Do
all fabrics increase a person's propensity to develop body odor.
The key to using clothing to prevent or lessen body
odor lies in the fabric's ability to release sweat quickly
before bacteria can begin to feast on it. There are
(02:14):
natural and manmade fabrics that expertly wick moisture away from
the skin and to the edge of the material, where
it can evaporate. Other fabrics, however, will trap moisture in
the fabric and on the skin and make body odor worse.
Fabric's ability to transmit and release moisture is known as breathability,
which is the common term for the moisture vapor transmission rate,
(02:35):
or m v TR. The m v TR is measured
by calculating how many grams of moisture move through a
square meter of fabric in twenty four hours. Generally, the
greater the m v t R, the less likely the
fabric is to absorb and retain odor causing moisture. You
may be thinking, great, now, all I have to do
is find clothing labeled breathable, and bo will be a
(02:57):
problem of the past. Not so fast. There's not an
industry standard regarding breathability. Nearly any label can carry the term,
usually preceded by words like ultra or extremely. This means
you'll need to arm yourself with information about specific fabrics,
rather than relying on label hype as a guide. Natural
fabrics created from the fibers of animals, bugs, or plants
(03:19):
are a good place to start. You'll want to steer
clear of one percent cotton fabrics because they take a
long time to dry and will allow body odor to
bloom in the meantime. This is largely because one cotton
fabrics are composed of fibers that swell with moisture and
thereby reduce the pores of the fabric. However, other natural
fabrics absorb and release sweat quickly, including hemp, a fabric
(03:41):
woven from these stem fibers of the Cannabis sativa plant,
and linen woven from flax stems. While it sounds counterintuitive
to wear wool to prevent body odor, this natural fiber
is an excellent choice. Wool can absorb up to thirty
six percent of its weight and moisture without feeling wet,
and will dry quickly. Will also pass minute amounts of
body heat as it absorbs moisture, so it will help
(04:03):
keep you cool. Plus, will is naturally antibacterial, which means
you can wear it, sweat in it, and keep wearing
it sometimes for consecutive days without reeking. When it comes
to making body odor worse, synthetic fabrics tend to trap
odors at a greater rate than natural fabrics. Although many
of these man made fabrics, like polyester, are quick to
wick moisture away from the skin and equally quick to dry,
(04:25):
their construction can up the stink quotient within the weave
of synthetic moisture. Waking fabrics are notches designed to pool
minute amounts of sweat as it transfers from the inner
layer to the outer layer of the fabric. The concept
is a good one, as the moisture will generally evaporate
once it reaches the fabrics outer layer. The problem is
that as sweat collects in the NOx and crannies of
(04:47):
the fabric on its way to freedom, it is devoured
by bacteria that have themselves made a home in those
same recesses. This traps body odor within the fabric. To
reduce rowdy odors, look for synthetic fabrics that have an
added a a microbial ingredient. For example, the addition of
silver to polyester or spandex fibers can help prevent body
odor from accumulating silver nano particles. That's particles so small
(05:10):
that eighty thousand of them could fit within the diameter
of a human hair can be integrated into synthetic fabric.
When they get wet, the silver nano particles release silver
ions that initially slow the growth of odor causing bacteria
and eventually kill them off altogether. Some fabrics are infused
with a different type of odor inhibiting agent, molecules of
(05:31):
volcanic ash. The ash molecules have a poor size that's
similar to that of an odor molecule. When the two meat,
the odor molecule is adsorbed and trapped within the ash molecule.
This prevents the odor molecule from releasing its characteristic smell
until the fabric is washed in warm water. To prevent
body odor, look for clothing made from fabrics that will
help keep you dry and have the added mite of
(05:54):
antimicrobial helpers, and don't forget the antiperspirant or deodorant. Today's
episode was written by Laurie L. Dove and produced by
Tristan McNeil and Tyler Clang. For more on this and
lots of other fresh topics, visit how stuff works dot com.
Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio. Or more
(06:16):
podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app Apple podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey
brain Stuff, Lauren vogel Bomb here with another classic episode
from our archives. Lots of athletic wear and outdoors gear
is labeled with claims that it will help wig away
sweat and keep you smelling as fresh as if you
just stepped out of the shower. In this episode, we
look at how those claims can possibly be true and
(00:25):
how they can sometimes fall through. Hey there, brain Stuff,
Lauren vogel bomb here. If you're preparing for a hike,
especially one that involves sleeping under the stars, every last
thing you pack should be questioned, will you need rain gear?
One walking sticker to which freeze dried snacks are actually
tasty enough to eat. One essential rule from experienced hikers
(00:48):
is no cotton clothing. Clothes made of cotton can act
as a sponge. The material soaks up sweat and holds
moisture next to the skin, which eliminates the insulating effect
of the cotton, causes skin ear tation and eventually leads
to copious amounts of body odor. A body odor isn't
a personal affront. Every adult whose body temperature becomes high
(01:09):
enough to cause certain glands to secrete fluid onto the
surface of the skin is at risk for emanating at
least a little bit, and it isn't without purpose. Sweat
produced by the acrine glands that cover most of the
body helps regulate body temperature, while the milki or fluid
released by the apocrine glands in the armpits and growing
area is a signal that the body is under stress.
(01:29):
Apocrene glands are primarily responsible for body odor, and although
acrine glands secrete primarily odorless sweat, the smell produced by
this sweat changes over time. Perspiration acts as a magnet
to bacteria on the skin, and these bacteria use it
as a fuel to multiply. When the growing numbers of
bacteria metabolize the sweat, they produce a smelly byproduct commonly
(01:52):
called body odor. Clearly, cotton isn't the right choice for
working up a sweat, since it can actually make body
odor worse. But what about other types of fabrics? Do
all fabrics increase a person's propensity to develop body odor.
The key to using clothing to prevent or lessen body
odor lies in the fabric's ability to release sweat quickly
before bacteria can begin to feast on it. There are
(02:14):
natural and manmade fabrics that expertly wick moisture away from
the skin and to the edge of the material, where
it can evaporate. Other fabrics, however, will trap moisture in
the fabric and on the skin and make body odor worse.
Fabric's ability to transmit and release moisture is known as breathability,
which is the common term for the moisture vapor transmission rate,
(02:35):
or m v TR. The m v TR is measured
by calculating how many grams of moisture move through a
square meter of fabric in twenty four hours. Generally, the
greater the m v t R, the less likely the
fabric is to absorb and retain odor causing moisture. You
may be thinking, great, now, all I have to do
is find clothing labeled breathable, and bo will be a
(02:57):
problem of the past. Not so fast. There's not an
industry standard regarding breathability. Nearly any label can carry the term,
usually preceded by words like ultra or extremely. This means
you'll need to arm yourself with information about specific fabrics,
rather than relying on label hype as a guide. Natural
fabrics created from the fibers of animals, bugs, or plants
(03:19):
are a good place to start. You'll want to steer
clear of one percent cotton fabrics because they take a
long time to dry and will allow body odor to
bloom in the meantime. This is largely because one cotton
fabrics are composed of fibers that swell with moisture and
thereby reduce the pores of the fabric. However, other natural
fabrics absorb and release sweat quickly, including hemp, a fabric
(03:41):
woven from these stem fibers of the Cannabis sativa plant,
and linen woven from flax stems. While it sounds counterintuitive
to wear wool to prevent body odor, this natural fiber
is an excellent choice. Wool can absorb up to thirty
six percent of its weight and moisture without feeling wet,
and will dry quickly. Will also pass minute amounts of
body heat as it absorbs moisture, so it will help
(04:03):
keep you cool. Plus, will is naturally antibacterial, which means
you can wear it, sweat in it, and keep wearing
it sometimes for consecutive days without reeking. When it comes
to making body odor worse, synthetic fabrics tend to trap
odors at a greater rate than natural fabrics. Although many
of these man made fabrics, like polyester, are quick to
wick moisture away from the skin and equally quick to dry,
(04:25):
their construction can up the stink quotient within the weave
of synthetic moisture. Waking fabrics are notches designed to pool
minute amounts of sweat as it transfers from the inner
layer to the outer layer of the fabric. The concept
is a good one, as the moisture will generally evaporate
once it reaches the fabrics outer layer. The problem is
that as sweat collects in the NOx and crannies of
(04:47):
the fabric on its way to freedom, it is devoured
by bacteria that have themselves made a home in those
same recesses. This traps body odor within the fabric. To
reduce rowdy odors, look for synthetic fabrics that have an
added a a microbial ingredient. For example, the addition of
silver to polyester or spandex fibers can help prevent body
odor from accumulating silver nano particles. That's particles so small
(05:10):
that eighty thousand of them could fit within the diameter
of a human hair can be integrated into synthetic fabric.
When they get wet, the silver nano particles release silver
ions that initially slow the growth of odor causing bacteria
and eventually kill them off altogether. Some fabrics are infused
with a different type of odor inhibiting agent, molecules of
(05:31):
volcanic ash. The ash molecules have a poor size that's
similar to that of an odor molecule. When the two meat,
the odor molecule is adsorbed and trapped within the ash molecule.
This prevents the odor molecule from releasing its characteristic smell
until the fabric is washed in warm water. To prevent
body odor, look for clothing made from fabrics that will
help keep you dry and have the added mite of
(05:54):
antimicrobial helpers, and don't forget the antiperspirant or deodorant. Today's
episode was written by Laurie L. Dove and produced by
Tristan McNeil and Tyler Clang. For more on this and
lots of other fresh topics, visit how stuff works dot com.
Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio. Or more
(06:16):
podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app Apple podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
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