- Men who ate fruit and vegetables had sweet and floral smelling sweat
- Those who consumed protein like meat and egg also smelled pleasant
- Diets high in carbohydrate were found to have the least pleasant sweat
- More tests need to be done to find out if the same is true from women
For many men hoping to attract a member of the opposite sex, slapping on a splash of aftershave can seem like the ideal way to help them smell more alluring.
But new research suggests they may want to eat a salad too if they want to increase their appeal to women.
It has shown that men who eat large amounts of fruit and vegetables have the most attractive smell to women, taking on an odour described as being floral and sweet.
Men who ate large amounts of meat, egg and tofu also had quite pleasant smelling sweat.
But those who had greater amounts of pasta, bread and other carbohydrates in their diet tended to have the least pleasant aroma.
Dr Ian Stephen, a psychologist at Macquarie University in Sydney, and his team said their findings suggests a man's body odour may help to signal information about their health to women.
Writing in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior, they said: 'The female judges were able to reliably evaluate the affective and intensity dimensions of male body odour.
'Male axillary sweat can serve as a further honest cue to women, about a man's health status.'
The researchers also argue that other indicators, such as yellower skin caused by a greater intake of foods rich in carotenoids such as carrots, are known to be more attractive to women.
Using spectrometres they were able to measure the level of colouring in men's skin due to carotenoids and so estimate their intake of fruit and vegetables.
They asked nine women to smell the sweat collected from 43 different men. The women rated the sweat from men with higher carotenoid levels as being better smelling.
The women described the sweat from these men as being more floral, fruity, sweet or having medicinal qualities.
The researchers also asked the men to fill in questionaires about their diet to obtain a measure of how much meat and carbohydrate they ate.
Surprisingly they found the women also found men who ate large quantities of protein had more pleasant smelling sweat that smelled less chemical to those taking part.
High levels of carbohydrate in the diet were linked to sweat that smelt the worst.
Writing in the journal, the researchers said: 'Diets rich in fruit and vegetables are associated with better human health both now and also probably in our ancestral past.
'One reason for this is that they provide a significant source of carotenoids, powerful anti-oxidants involved in several aspects of health, including the capacity to mount an effective immune response without costly oxidative damage.
'Our data parallel facial judgements, in which yellower more carotenoid rich skin, is found to be more attractive.'
More tests need to be done to find out if the same is true for women.
Post a Comment