How Chlorophyll Helps To Eliminate Body Odor

One of our previous articles talked about a product called Body Mint and how it works to reduce odor.  We had several questions asking us if chlorophyll really does work to remove body odor (as well as breath and foot odor).  It is hard to imagine that a green substance from plants could work as a deodorant, but there have been several studies to show it does exactly that.  In fact, there isn't a single person who has studied chlorophyll that would say it doesn't work to reduce odor in some capacity.

Chlorophyll has been used as far back as the 1950s as a means to reduce odor.  It was first used to treat fecal and urine odors by doctors in hospitals.  One doctor in particular by the name of Franklin Westcott was using chlorophyll as a means to treat anemia patients and began noticing that it also reduced urine odor.  This led him to theorize that it could also work on everyday body and breath odors.  He conducted an experiment using an osmoscope and volunteers from his hospital.  He would have them use chlorophyll after bathing, and 24 hours later would take body odor readings using the osmoscope.  His findings showed that chlorophyll was able to reduce body odor anywhere from half to completely.  He then repeated the experiment using onion juice as a test on breath odor.  Onions contain high amounts of sulfide compounds which are the same compounds produced by oral bacteria.  His findings were similar to that of the body odor test. 

Future studies were able to determine that in order for chlorophyll to be used effectively, a certain dosage requirement was needed.  Researches found that between 100mg - 300mg of chlorophyll was required for any type of deodorant action to occur.  It was noted that 75mg was insufficient a quantity and resulted in no odor reduction.

Skeptics often reference an interview by Dr. John Kephart who said that no deodorant properties could be achieved through commercial chlorophyll products due to insufficient amounts of chlorophyll.  He noted that in order for it to be effective, large doses must be given internally.

That is true in the sense that he was referring to gums, sprays, powders and the like.  The amount of chlorophyll contained in those products was minimal.  Anyone ever heard of Chlorets?

However, as a dietary supplement, the required quantity is available.  A typical chlorophyll supplement pill has anywhere from 60mg - 100mg per tablet.  In the case of Body Mint, one pill contains 100mg and the recommended daily dosage is 2 tablets per day.  This meets both the quantity requirement as well as the fact that it is an internal dosage. 

To summarize, chlorophyll is indeed both a powerful and effective deodorant treatment.  It works internally by absorbing odor compounds before they are released from the body.