Today we're going to dive into a touchy subject: Body odor. I'm not going to dance around the subject, either, because body odor can actually be an important indicator of your overall health and dietary habits. What you exhale through your breath and your skin is a good indicator of what's going on inside your body. If you start to stink within hours of not using deodorant, rest assured there is putrefaction or fermentation going on inside your body, and that indicates a poor diet, usually.

Did you know that dogs can smell cancer on your breath? This has been verified by scientists. With special training, these dogs can actually smell cancer. They can also be trained to smell bladder cancer in your urine. Search Google for "dog sniffing bladder cancer" if you don't believe me.

If dogs can smell cancer, it's not unreasonable that some people might be able to detect it as well. Some holistic health practitioners that I know tell me that they can smell cancer in patients. That's because cancer emits a specific odor, and a lot of people who are using deodorant are simply trying to cover up odors that could actually serve as a health indicator.

Most Americans can't imagine going through a day without using deodorant. That's because they stink so bad that they feel obligated to apply toxic deodorant products to their bodies every single day. I used to be one of those people, but I have since learned that the things that make you stink are the same things that make you unhealthy, namely, milk, cheese, meat, animal fats and refined carbohydrate products like white flour. Animal products are the most offensive dietary sources of internal stink by far, and milk products produce the greatest funk of all.

The more animal products you consume, the more toxic fumes you're going to emit from your armpits (and other regions). Most people believe a lot of misinformation about body odor; they think the body just naturally stinks and that body odor is just a result of bacteria growth in your armpits. This is utterly false. The body doesn't just naturally stink.

The fact is, body odor is primarily the toxic gas from the fermentation or putrefaction processes going on inside your body due to the ingestion of animal products and processed, refined foods. Yes, there are bacteria in your armpits, but the kinds of bacteria that are living there depend on what you are "feeding" them. In other words, if your body is emitting nontoxic waste products, it's just perspiring excess minerals and normal healthy metabolic byproducts. That means the bacteria living in your armpits are not going to be as offensive as the ones that might be living there if your skin is emitting toxic byproducts of animal product digestion.

I encourage you to take the 48-hour no-deodorant test, because it really will tell you something about your internal health. If you find that, during the 48 hours, you can't stand being around yourself because of your own body odor, then that's a strong indicator that it's time to start changing what you eat.

Americans love to cover up symptoms rather than address their root cause. We like shortcuts, and it's a lot easier and quicker to apply a paste of aluminum salts to our armpits than actually clean up our metabolic processes. Americans are typically very hesitant to make lifestyle changes that require giving up their favorite foods, which might be chicken fried steak, a milkshake or a grilled cheese sandwich. Americans don't want to give that up and, as a result, they are dying from completely preventable metabolic diseases with names like breast cancer, diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease and atherosclerosis.

Detecting the presence of these diseases is easier than you might think. You don't need thousands of dollars in laboratory tests to know that something is wrong (although lab tests can certainly be handy in confirming their presence). All you have to do is to assess your own smell. If your body stinks, that's a sure sign that there is something rancid going on inside, and disease processes are inevitably underway. Think about it: If you small that bad on the outside, imagine what's going on inside!

You know who has the cleanest bodies of all? Raw food vegans. Clean bodies, clear heads, open channels. Check out folks like Dr. Gabriel Cousens at the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center if you want to learn how to revolutionize your body, mind and spirit by starting with healthful food choice.

Your body's metabolic engine

Your body is a metabolic engine, and the exhaust of the engine is determined by what you are feeding the engine. You know how it's difficult to breathe if you're driving behind a diesel truck? The diesel exhaust is the result of the dirty fuels. In the body of a person who eats dirty food fuels (like animal products), there is similarly a horrible exhaust emitted from many different exhaust locations, including the tailpipe. What you emit is a very good indicator of your overall level of health.

If you do change your foods and clean up your food fuels, you could potentially save yourself from many different degenerative diseases. Just as importantly, you'll avoid using the toxic ingredients found in deodorant products, many of which contain cancer-causing and liver-damaging chemicals. There is no requirement that chemicals used in deodorant products have to be proven safe for humans, by the way.

In terms of nutritional supplements, the best "cleaning" supplements that can reduce your body odor are chlorella and parsley. The culinary spice cilantro also does a great job. Chlorophyll works wonders for cleaning your blood of toxins. But none of these can completely counteract the metabolic byproducts of consuming animal products.

I've even found that whey protein, including the clean, organic whey proteins, still result in "dirty" metabolic processes that produce odor. Brown rice protein, however, is clean. (I recommend the Nutribiotic brand.) Other strategies for cleaning out your system including buying a Vitamix and blending up a fresh raw foods shake each morning. Be sure to use greens such as celery and cucumber, along with various fruits or superfood powders.

And above all, if you want to eliminate body odor for life, avoid cheese, milk and dairy products. They make you smell like "milk and butter." The smell of these products is so bad that when U.S. soldiers were shipped off to Vietnam in the 1960's, the Vietcong could actually smell them thanks to their American diets. New arrivals were often put on new diets based on local cuisine simply to rid their bodies of the milk-and-butter smell, thereby reducing the risk of being literally sniffed out by the enemy.

The Vietcong knew what few Americans will admit: We stink of dairy products. And then we buy toxic chemicals to cover up the smell, then douse on more perfume or cologne to create the illusion that we're actually clean-smelling folks. But remember: Unless you eat a healthy diet, you're only one shower away from being intolerable.