Are you the one who attracts mosquitoes? Do they come flying to you and bite you often? Considering the infective risk that these mosquitoes carry, you may want to drive them away. But how? Your eating habits can help you in this. Research has shown that what you eat impacts your respiration and skin odor. Hence by changing your food habits, you can divert their journey away from you.
Mosquitoes and you
Mosquitoes are those irritating insects that no one wants to have near them. Their biting can cause awful wheals in those who are allergic to them. Moreover, they spread dangerous diseases such as malaria, filaria, dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya etc.
Mosquitoes are disease spreading vectors (Source: International atomic energy agency)More than half of the world’s population is at risk of been bitten by these pesky insects. The risk is more with climate change. They cause morbidity, hospitalizations, and even death. Often, one observes that they go more towards certain individuals. The color of clothes you are wearing, your body temperature, breath odor and skin odor all influence their journey towards you. The physiology, body hormones, genes, and skin bacterial culture all affect body odor. Our food habits can also affect our breath and microbiome of skin. The volatile organic compounds emanating from our body that attract the mosquitoes are carbon dioxide, lactic acid, acetone, ammonia, etc.
Food habits and mosquitoes
There are certain foods which on consumption can drive mosquitoes towards the eater. There are:
Alcohol: one of the food habits that attracts mosquitoes
A study from Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association states that mosquitoes are more on individuals after they drink beer. Similar findings came from a study in PLOS ONE. This could be due to change in body temperature and VOCs after alcohol consumption.
Alcohol (Source: New food magazine)Coffee and aromatic drinks
Coffee and such caffeine containing aromatic drinks can increase attractiveness of mosquitoes towards the person, says a study in Current Research in Parasitology & Vector-borne Diseases. These drinks increase body temperature and the insects are attracted more to warmer bodies. Therefore, one can avoid these drinks and hot beverages before they go outside especially during the evening hours. That might help reduce the attraction of the mosquitoes towards you.
How to reduce mosquito attraction towards you?
Have a clean skin at all times. After exercise your skin gets sweaty. Take a shower immediately to avoid body odors and bacterial infection. This will reduce the attractiveness of the insects towards you. Also a bath lowers the body temperature. And cooler bodies less attract the mosquito. Eat wholesome and balanced and healthy. Alcohol and coffee consumption should be in moderation.
Coffee and caffeine (Source: Health line)Low carb diets lead to ketogenesis and formation of acetone that attract the mosquito. Hence eat healthily.
Also, read Dietary fiber: advantages and content in individual foods!
These are just tips and may not hold true always. Hence to avoid the deadly diseases from this vector, avoid places that have a lot of mosquitoes. Avoid going there especially in late afternoon or evening times. And wear full sleeved shirts and full length trousers if you need to go such places. Protect yourselves well to shield from the deadly bites.