# Why do so many vegetarians have a funny smell? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 17, 2003, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-vegetarians-have-a-funny-smell/155622 "2003-02-17T14:06:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![samarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-vegetarians-have-a-funny-smell/155622/21 "2003-02-18T01:01:40Z")
Vegetarians smell? News to me! I can honestly say I’ve never noticed this. ---
**Author:** ![cdhostage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@cdhostage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cdhostage)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-vegetarians-have-a-funny-smell/155622/22 "2003-02-18T01:05:17Z")
and what about those old people? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-vegetarians-have-a-funny-smell/155622/23 "2003-02-18T01:17:51Z")
[High Fidelity]"…And take your patchouli _stench_ out of my store!"[/HF] 🙂 The first thing I thought of was boutique, counter-culture soaps, like hemp and tea oil. Nasty-smelling stuff. Aside from certain rancid add-ons, though, and assuming good hygiene otherwise, most vegans probably smell (and taste) very nice. Supposedly, people on the Atkins diet who lose weight by staying in the no-carb state of “ketosis” have terrible breath and b.o. ---
**Author:** ![jack\_ss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c77e96/32.png) [@jack\_ss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jack_ss)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-vegetarians-have-a-funny-smell/155622/24 "2003-02-18T01:55:13Z")
I thought about patchouli at first too. When you say they had the “vegetarian look”, do you mean they had dreadlocks & wore Tevas, or they were thin and had clear skin? If it’s the dreadlocks & Tevas, I’m sticking with patchouli & pot. If it’s just thin & clear skin, I really don’t have any idea. I dated a vegetarian girl and she tasted nice. She had a very subtle flavor and body odor which I enjoyed. ---
**Author:** ![IrishRideGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b4bc9f/32.png) [@IrishRideGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IrishRideGirl)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-vegetarians-have-a-funny-smell/155622/25 "2003-02-18T04:02:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FranticMad \* > \*\*I had a friend who said vegetarians smelled and tasted better. However, maybe that was just an urban myth. Anyone have direct experience with intimate relations with vegetarians versus carnivores? > \*\* Yes and it is not an urban legend. I have been Vegan for 17+ years and we do smell different. We both smell and taste better 😛 I can smell a meat eater from a block away. Don’t even ask what it is like to smell them sweating. P.S. I would not be caught dead wearing or smelling like patchouli. Or curry. ---
**Author:** ![FranticMad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c68b51/32.png) [@FranticMad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FranticMad)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-vegetarians-have-a-funny-smell/155622/26 "2003-02-18T04:19:50Z")
“Old people” do have a distinct smell, IIRC, which is a byproduct of how they metabolise arichadonic acid – or something like that. Yeah yeah, I’ll try and find a cite for this offtopic note. So we have a few votes for patchouli, followed by weed. Quite plausible. The we have the lack of a rotting meat and milk odor which is emanated by carnivores. Then we have some people who notice no difference – but I must wonder how large their sample size is, and how close they have been to the primary data source. ---
**Author:** ![vege\_person](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/90ced4/32.png) [@vege\_person](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vege_person)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-vegetarians-have-a-funny-smell/155622/27 "2011-07-14T16:30:55Z")
Juiced or blended, raw greens, especially Kale just smell green. I was asked if I was around pot after I had raw Kale. So part of what smells like pot is the smell of greens. Whatever we eat comes through our skin. I have noticed Indian food, onions, garlic, dairy. Green doesn’t smell that good. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-vegetarians-have-a-funny-smell/155622/28 "2011-07-14T16:33:09Z")
G-r-a-a-i-i-n-s. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-vegetarians-have-a-funny-smell/155622/29 "2011-07-14T16:38:47Z")
You people keep breathing when you pass near others at the grocery store? ---
**Author:** ![Yaxche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8dc957/32.png) [@Yaxche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yaxche)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-vegetarians-have-a-funny-smell/155622/30 "2011-07-14T16:49:50Z")
> [@IrishRideGirl](#): > > Yes and it is not an urban legend. I have been Vegan for 17+ years and we do smell different. We both smell and taste better 😛 I would suspect you are self-selecting on that. Totally subjective, and likely more to do with having similar diets than the vegan diet. I’m going with either patchouli or curry. He may be misidentifying hippies as vegetarians, and hey, there’s a large crossover. On the other hand (as mentioned), curry is likely to be more prevalent in vegetarian diets as well. …all this talk of curry is making me hungry, though. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-vegetarians-have-a-funny-smell/155622/31 "2011-07-14T16:53:51Z")
vegetarians, zombie or otherwise, only use free range soap which is very expensive so they use it less frequently. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-vegetarians-have-a-funny-smell/155622/32 "2011-07-14T17:19:52Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > G-r-a-a-i-i-n-s. Vegetarian zombie resurrection gag o’ the month 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-vegetarians-have-a-funny-smell/155622/33 "2011-07-14T18:27:29Z")
:smack: ---
**Author:** ![geneb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e4f/32.png) [@geneb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geneb)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-vegetarians-have-a-funny-smell/155622/34 "2011-07-14T19:38:49Z")
Deleted. ---
**Author:** ![Unstable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/65b543/32.png) [@Unstable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unstable)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-vegetarians-have-a-funny-smell/155622/35 "2011-07-14T19:48:53Z")
Texican: You are definitely not alone in wondering about this, it’s been bugging me for years! It’s very hard to describe this smell, it’s definitely not from a spice (i.e. curry) or anything close to patchouli. The closest I can come to describe it is: greenish smell (as in leafy greens but not fresh), it emanates from breath and general body odour, but it is not due to lack of hygiene. I’ve encountered this smell from a large percentage of both vegans and vegetarians but not all people of these groups necessarily carry this scent. When it’s present, it’s often pretty intense (to me anyways). I have used it many many times to “guess” that a person was a vegetarian, all of which were apparently mistified that I could smell this off them. Personally, I have a hard time with the smell. It really does not appeal to me, in fact I find it quite unpleasant. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-vegetarians-have-a-funny-smell/155622/36 "2011-07-14T20:03:35Z")
Garlic and onions give a distinctive body odor and breath odor. I could see the scent overwhelmed by meateaters and being more clear in vegetarians. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-vegetarians-have-a-funny-smell/155622/37 "2011-07-14T21:43:52Z")
Everybody has a smell. The difference is that your brain edits out the smells you are used to and alerts you to new smells. Hasn’t anyone noticed when they go on vacation that their house smells when they come back? Guess what? Your house always smell like that, but you brain stops editing it out after a few days. Of course, some smells are better than others. I can still remember a bakery I used to drive past in the afternoon. Women also tend to smell pretty good. I’ve noticed that there are a lot of people that smell okay, but you don’t want to stand too close to them when they talk, because their breath is disagreeable. I suspect a lot of diet smells mentioned have a lot to do with breath and not so much with body odor. Some foods can change your body odor, but practically all foods will change how your breath smells. ---
**Author:** ![Rusalka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecd19e/32.png) [@Rusalka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rusalka)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-vegetarians-have-a-funny-smell/155622/38 "2011-07-14T21:50:26Z")
I bet it’s Patchouli too. I didn’t know what that smelled like until a few years ago, when I finally made the connection. Please Mr. OP can you go to Whole Foods and smell some patchouli and report back to us if that is the vegetarian smell you were referring to? I’m dying to know. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-vegetarians-have-a-funny-smell/155622/39 "2011-07-14T21:52:30Z")
> [@Rusalka](#): > > I bet it’s Patchouli too. I didn’t know what that smelled like until a few years ago, when I finally made the connection. Please Mr. OP can you go to Whole Foods and smell some patchouli and report back to us if that is the vegetarian smell you were referring to? I’m dying to know. As Mr. OP hasn’t posted here in over six years, I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for a reply. ---
**Author:** ![Rusalka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecd19e/32.png) [@Rusalka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rusalka)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-vegetarians-have-a-funny-smell/155622/40 "2011-07-14T22:10:49Z")
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