A new study from the Irish biochemist J.C.M. Stewart says that eating tomatoes might give people worse body odor. There are compounds called terpenes in tomatoes, along with other fruits and vegetables, that give them a distinct smell and flavor.

A new study from an Irish biochemist J.C.M. Stewart says that eating tomatoes might give people worse body odor.

There are compounds called terpenes in tomatoes, along with in other fruits and vegetables, that give them a distinct smell and flavor.

For example, hops used to brew beer get their bitterness from high concentrations of a certain kind of terpene, and the compounds are also what make marijuana smell like a skunk.

Tomatoes are rich in the terepene called lycopene, which the results of the study show might be responsible for causing body odor in humans who eat a lot of them.

Stewart wrote in the abstract for his study that: “These observations suggest that the axillary apocrine glands are a prominent excretory route for terpenes. Considering the quantities eaten, tomatoes are likely to be the main source of dietary terpenes, and under arm odour in turn.”

The findings are contradictory to the common belief that bathing in tomato juice can help people overcome extreme cases of body odor or clean off the smell of being sprayed by a skunk.

Tests have shown that the tomato juice only masks the smell rather than eliminating it.