Does Becoming a Vegetarian Improve Hygiene?

The primary motive of becoming a vegetarian or vegan is to protect animal rights. Vegetarians find the extreme cruelty and death of animals for the purpose of meat to be appalling. While abstaining from meat-eating develops a clean conscious, a further point to consider is if it establishes "cleanliness" in terms of hygiene. As the saying goes, "You Are What You Eat"; so doesn't the body's absence of meat - the loudest smelling of foods - reduce foul body odor?

To answer this question, it is important to consider the science behind unpleasant body odors and the foods that contribute to it. A common myth is that excessive sweating leads to awful body odors; when in fact sweating helps to rid one's body of toxins that are to blame for repulsive body odors. How do these toxins enter into one's body? At the top of the list of foods that create the worst body odors is red meat followed by fried foods; processed foods with artificial flavors, added sugar, or white flour; empty calorie or junk foods; coffee and alcohol; and some plant foods such as garlic and onions. In contrast, foods that detoxify the body include whole grains, leafy green vegetables, fresh fruit, raw nuts, soy foods and water. So while a vegetarian whose diet solely consists of detoxifying foods will have the ability to maintain optimal hygiene, another vegetarian whose diet includes processed and junk foods is at risk for an unpleasant body odor, though not as extreme as that of a meat-eater.

The crux of the matter is that becoming a vegetarian is an effective way to improve hygiene when one's diet is composed of natural, whole foods. Otherwise, a vegetarian consuming processed and junk food is just as vulnerable to developing offensive body odors as a meat eater. So the point to remember is that the cure for eliminating problematic body odor is not the abstinence from meat alone but rather the avoidance any food that is not organic or healthy. As a result, a body without an excessive production of toxins from these foods becomes naturally deodorized, which establishes optimal hygiene.