# Why does the body odor of certain people smell like curry? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 18, 2001, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-body-odor-of-certain-people-smell-like-curry/82481 "2001-09-18T23:03:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![non-native](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@non-native](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/non-native)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-body-odor-of-certain-people-smell-like-curry/82481/1 "2001-09-18T23:03:20Z")
Am i the only person that notices this? is this yet another sign of my slowly deteriorating sanity? Some people’s BO simply smells exactly like what it is (BO), but i’ve noticed some peoples BO smell like curry. Maybe it’s because they eat a lot of curry? Please tell me i’m not the only person that notices this and the answer would also be greatly appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-body-odor-of-certain-people-smell-like-curry/82481/2 "2001-09-18T23:11:54Z")
The way a person smells is heavily influenced by their diet. People who eat a lot of curry smell like curry for this reason. ---
**Author:** ![non-native](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@non-native](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/non-native)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-body-odor-of-certain-people-smell-like-curry/82481/3 "2001-09-18T23:25:52Z")
That seems like a reasonable explanation, but why do i only notice with curry? What’s curry made out of anyways? ---
**Author:** ![Trucido](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@Trucido](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trucido)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-body-odor-of-certain-people-smell-like-curry/82481/4 "2001-09-18T23:32:12Z")
I’m gonna throw out a wild guess and say that the same compounds in the spices that give curry its distinct odor are excreted by the body in sweat and oil. That’s the case with garlic, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2001, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-body-odor-of-certain-people-smell-like-curry/82481/5 "2001-09-18T23:44:13Z")
I’ve always imaged that [Curry](http://rubberburner.com/) smells like Old Spice. ---
**Author:** ![KenP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c0e974/32.png) [@KenP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KenP)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-body-odor-of-certain-people-smell-like-curry/82481/6 "2001-09-19T00:28:00Z")
Actually, I think the aroma you have in mind is cumin, which is used in making curry. I have always thought of it the other way around: cumin smells like body order, not that body order smells like cumin (or curry). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-body-odor-of-certain-people-smell-like-curry/82481/7 "2001-09-19T01:56:14Z")
Curry is a blended spice, so no answer is meaningful on that one. Sorry. Could be you only notice people who smell like curry because it’s a smell you can identify easily. Consider it your super-power. My Superpower is the ability to sniff out diabetics. They smell like play-dough to me. ---
**Author:** ![Booker57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Booker57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Booker57)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-body-odor-of-certain-people-smell-like-curry/82481/8 "2001-09-19T03:02:35Z")
Some times old men smell like chili. To me at least. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-body-odor-of-certain-people-smell-like-curry/82481/9 "2001-09-19T05:07:19Z")
There is always the possibility that your BO (or anyone’s) smells like something to someone else. I’ve read several accounts from American Indians who mention quite pointedly that most white people they encountered smelled like spoiled milk, because of the dairy in the average white person’s diet. The traditional Plains Indian diet didn’t include much, if any, dairy, so the difference in smell was quite obvious to them. ---
**Author:** ![JillGat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-body-odor-of-certain-people-smell-like-curry/82481/10 "2001-09-19T05:50:10Z")
An African American friend of mine told me that he and all his friends always thought white people smell like baloney. Really. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-body-odor-of-certain-people-smell-like-curry/82481/11 "2001-09-19T11:21:46Z")
Read the Chinese point of view from the 19th century and you’ll see mention of “butter-smelling Westerners.” Curry spices are many and varied. Without doubt the one that comes through the strongest in BO is fenugreek. Black pepper, cumin, and garlic also contribute to the mix. Once in college when I was living on a lot of Indian food I started to smell like coriander seed, which I thought was the best of all. Haven’t been able to replicate that feat. ---
**Author:** ![Kendo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Kendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kendo)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-body-odor-of-certain-people-smell-like-curry/82481/12 "2001-09-19T11:37:58Z")
My experience is that an awful lot of Asian folk in Britain smell like Curry - undoubtedly because they eat an awful lot of the stuff. Heck, whole streets can smell like Curry in a strongly Asian community. Personally I think this is great because I love a good Curry, and Asians seem to know how to make the most wonderful dishes. If my opening paragraph offends anyone, I apologise, there is certainly no malice intended. As I say, this is only _my_ experience and is probably subject to my geography. Can I ask, though, how the author of the OP knows _specifically_ that it is the **BO** that he is smelling and **not odours from the hair/clothing**? ---
**Author:** ![dragonlady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@dragonlady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragonlady)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-body-odor-of-certain-people-smell-like-curry/82481/13 "2001-09-19T15:01:44Z")
I know for a fact that just handling raw onions (cutting and peeling) will make me smell like them for DAYS afterwards. In small amounts it’s not noticable unless you get real close, but when I worked fast food and prepped enough for the whole store…WHOA! And it wasn’t just my hands, I actually SWEAT the smell…along with other bodily fluids being discussed in another thread… ---
**Author:** ![non-native](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@non-native](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/non-native)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-body-odor-of-certain-people-smell-like-curry/82481/14 "2001-09-19T22:52:34Z")
I remember i always had a half-arsed reason for believing it was BO instead just a smell that was inbedded on the person. I just remembered what (or who) that reason was. It’s my uncle. My uncle doesn’t like to bath, and i wouldn’t be surpised if he didn’t even know what curry is(meaning this guy doesn’t eat curry). Hey, it may be half-arsed, but it’s led to be to believe it’s BO to this day. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2001, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-body-odor-of-certain-people-smell-like-curry/82481/15 "2001-09-19T23:40:15Z")
When I was living in the Western Pacific (on an island) a native friend asked me why all Americans smelled like dead meat? ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2001, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-body-odor-of-certain-people-smell-like-curry/82481/16 "2001-09-20T02:38:41Z")
> [@](#): > > it’s your diet that effects your body’s smell most, both positively and negatively. A fishy smell, for instance, may be caused by too much of the B vitamin choline in your diet. Curry, cumin, fish, garlic and onion in the diet are notorious for giving people who eat a lot of these foods and spices a particular smell as they stay in your body’s secretions for hours after eating them. Butyric acid in butter and other dairy foods makes Westerners stink to Asians who eat no milk products. > [reference](http://www.drweil.com/qa_answer/0,3189,1261,00.html) ---
**Author:** ![adzoa\_k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b782af/32.png) [@adzoa\_k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adzoa_k)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2001, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-body-odor-of-certain-people-smell-like-curry/82481/17 "2001-09-20T18:04:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JillGat \* > \*\*An African American friend of mine told me that he and all his friends always thought white people smell like baloney. Really. \*\* this is gonna sound REALLY dumb…but i remember, while growing up we [my sisters, our friends and I] thought white people smelled like wet dogs…maybe it was because alot of them their dogs better than their kids. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Tony\_Montana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tony\_Montana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tony_Montana)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2001, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-body-odor-of-certain-people-smell-like-curry/82481/18 "2001-09-21T06:16:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JillGat \* > \*\*An African American friend of mine told me that he and all his friends always thought white people smell like baloney. Really. \*\* my friend cris told me that also,no joke. ---
**Author:** ![Pewex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Pewex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pewex)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-body-odor-of-certain-people-smell-like-curry/82481/19 "2011-02-21T02:43:39Z")
I made myself curried couscous last night and ate the leftovers this morning, and my pits, not my clothes or anything else, smell like curry. I’ve showered since then. It’s amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Heyoka13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Heyoka13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heyoka13)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-body-odor-of-certain-people-smell-like-curry/82481/20 "2011-02-21T02:48:07Z")
> [@black\_rabbit](#): > > I’ve always imaged that [Curry](http://rubberburner.com/) smells like Old Spice. To me, Old Spice smells exactly like urinal cakes. I cannot bear to be near anyone who wears Old Spice. It is actual torture. I fear I am alone in this unusual smell malfunction. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-body-odor-of-certain-people-smell-like-curry/82481.md?page=2)