Understanding the Ancient Greek Wisdom: How Smells Can Indicate Pathology

GThe ancient Greeks already understood that a change in the smell of breath, skin, feet or feces could indicate the beginning of pathology.

Usually i bad smells those that come out of our body embarrass us, make us feel ashamed and even isolate ourselves from others. But we should try to consider them not as enemies, but as friends who can save our lives in some cases. Yes, because often bad breath, acidic sweat or a specific skin odor can be a sign of a disease we are suffering from. The ancient Greeks understood this and now it is scientifically proven. Recent research has shown that the body, according to the physiology, can smell different than usual, sometimes worse, sometimes just with changes in pH.

The old people found a smell

This has been known since the time of the ancient Greeks when a person is sick they smell different. Although it is not normal to smell a person’s body to understand if they suffer from some pathology, science has proven that the ancient Greeks were right. Liver failure, diabetes and many other diseasesespecially infectious diseases, giving a peculiar smell to the breath.

Diagnosing respiratory diseases

In 1971, Nobel Prize winning chemist Linus Pauling was counted 250 different gaseous chemicals in your breath: only some are visible with their nose. Human breath contains hundreds of gaseous chemicals called volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Many VOCs are visible to the human nose, while others can only be detected using special instruments. Changes in VOCs can indicate the presence skin, respiratory, brain or intestinal diseases. However, fruity breath can indicate diabetes.

The importance of sweat

The smell of the skin is also important. The epidermis is, of course, secretive waste toxins through sweat, it is cleaned from the pores, thanks also to the glands that are scattered throughout the body. This smell can vary according to your taste chemical compositionand that is often the cause when you have bowel problems sweat can become more acidic.

Bad foot odor

Feet are one of the most embarrassing stinks, because bad odor is often associated with bad hygiene. But it is not always like this. Athlete’s foot may be the cause, a fungal infection that can be transferred to other parts of the body or to other people by touching or sharing shoes, towels and bedding.

Very smelly stool

Our feces are also an important indicator of our health. If the feces smell more unpleasant than usualIn fact, we may have lactose intolerance, which occurs when the small intestine cannot produce enough of the enzyme lactase and, therefore, cannot digest lactose. In this way the lactose does not enter the bloodstream, but into the colon, where it is moved by intense bacteria. The result of this process is the most unpleasant smell in the patients. The same goes for urine. The urinary tract infections this can lead to the production of pungent smelling urine. This happens when bacteria enter the urethra and multiply in the bladder, causing an infection.