How To Manage Sweating Through Food?

Believe it or not, what you eat can effect on how you smell and how much you sweat. Some foods can increase the amount you sweat while others can reduce it. If you suffer from excessive sweating you can avoid or limit the foods that make you sweat.

Here is a list of foods that can make you sweat:
1.Excess salt: Too much salt can turn you into a sweater. Why? Well, when you eat large amounts of salt, your body will sweat to get rid of the excess sodium. The recommended amount is 4 grams per day. So cut down your salt and you will sweat less.
2.High fat milk: Milk that contains high fat can make you sweat so replace that whole milk with some low fat or skim milk to reduce your body’s sweat output.
3.Fatty and Processed foods: white bread, Fast food, chocolate and other processed foods can make you sweat. Do you know why? Because your body needs to work double time to digest these foods. Just like exercising can make you sweat, digesting these foods will make you sweat too. Avoid sweating by avoiding these foods.
4.Coffee: Unfortunately the espresso is going to make you sweat for two reasons: First, coffee contains Caffeine which stimulates your central nervous system, which activates your sweat glands leading to sweating. Second, it’s hot and heat can make you sweat.
5.Spicy Foods: Your body reacts to spicy foods the same way as it reacts to a hot day; it does whatever it can to cool down the temperature of your body and that includes sweating.
6.Alcohol: If you are a heavy drinker, you are most probably a heavy sweater. Alcohol can often cause widening in the blood vessels of your skin. This leads to increased body heat and as a result you start sweating.
7.Onions and Garlic: Onions and garlic may not increase your body’s sweat production, but they contribute to the foul smell of your sweat and your breath.
8.Smoking: Even though it’s not a food, cigarette smoke does enter your body. If lung cancer doesn’t scare you, maybe excessive sweating will, The Nicotine in cigarette causes your body to release acetylcholine, which stimulates your sweat glands. It also raises blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature. So put down that cigarette and save your shirt from those embarrassing sweaty stains.

Now, we will cover some things that you can add to your diet to help you stop excessive sweating:

1.Water: One of the easiest ways to avoid excessive sweating is by drinking plenty of water and when your body is hydrated enough, it doesn’t need to work too hard to regulate your body temperature, so ultimately less work = less sweat.
2.Calcium Rich Foods: Calcium like any other mineral keeps you healthy but it can also reduce sweating. When you eat calcium rich foods such as low fat yogurt and cheese, almonds, beans, kale and cottage cheese you give your body the energy it needs to regulate temperature and reduce perspiration.
3.Olive Oil: It helps with your digestive system making it easy for your body to process, As we said earlier less work means less sweat. In addition, it regulates your blood pressure, and lowers cholesterol.
4.Skim or low-fat Milk: The creamy whole milk you love might be causing you sweat problems. Exchanging your whole milk for skim milk can be a great adjustment and it will be worth it when you see the reduction in your sweating.
5.Fruits and Vegetables: Eating a healthy, balanced diet can keep your sweat in check. Fruits and vegetables are definitely on this list, they are rich in Vitamins and packed with water, and keep you slim, aid in digestion, and keep you hydrated. All of these are contributed to less sweating.
6.B Vitamins: B-Vitamins help your body with critical metabolic functions and inter-nerve communication that keeps things running smoothly. So, when you don’t get these essential B Vitamins your body needs to work harder which can cause more sweating. Fill your plate with whole grains, proteins and vegetables to get these essential B vitamins.

Christelle Bedrossian
Dietitian-Nutritionist
Beirut, Lebanon