Fact-checking if the carnivore diet makes you smell like flowers

Who is Ma?

Formerly a Juilliard-trained pianist who has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Disney Concert Hall, Ma has more recently taken up the title of a social media influencer.

She used to be on a vegan diet, and then moved over to the carnivorous diet, where she now eats primarily red meat, fish, eggs, raw milk and butter.

Ma also runs an online program called The 90-Day-Carnivore Challenge, which costs $90 dollars for nearly three months. Included are resources from almost nine other instructors with diverse backgrounds, ranging from coaching to cardiovascular health. 

However, none of these professionals has a concrete education in nutritional health. 

Other news outlets have fact-checked Ma’s claims about the diet, including how it’s cleared up her skin, helped her lose weight,  prevented the risk of skin cancer or Alzheimer’s, and improved her bowel movements.

All previous fact-checks concluded that most of Ma’s diet claims are not scientifically sound.

Does scientific evidence support Ma’s claim?

A 2006 study published in the Journal of Chemical Senses found that diet can affect the way your body smells. 

The main focus of the study was to discover if only consuming red meat “affects the axillary odour hedonicity perception,” or otherwise known as how we emotionally respond to smells. 

Odour donors were told before the test to follow the diet chosen for them prior to sampling. The participants were split into two groups: one that ate meat and one that did not. 

The participants followed their diets for two-weeks and documented what they consumed.

The study extended “our knowledge of how environmental factors influence body odour,” given the few studies on the topic.

The researchers suggest that those on meat-only diets smelled more intense and pungent than those on non-meat diets.

Additionally, the study found that diet does not completely eliminate body odour. 

So, yes, eating red meat does affect our odour, but there is no scientific evidence that eating steak makes people smell like flowers, as Ma claims.

The researchers conclude that their work has limitations that warrant further exploration, including differences in meat consumption and odour perception, particularly regarding white meat and seafood. 

And they also do not know how long one must consume meat to make a discernible change in body odour, or how long the meat content persists in odour.

A 2017 study concluded that participants on all-meat diets actually smell more pleasant. A stark contrast to the previous study. 

Meanwhile, another 2019 study found that all meat diets make body odour more pungent, as in the earlier study. 

However, the one thing all three studies have in common is that diet directly affects our body odour, including the inability to eliminate it. Instead, they increase the smell, either pleasantly or unpleasantly.

With more studies pointing to unpleasant outcomes, it is important not to ignore those who think otherwise.

Motives not well-being related, says Calgary nutritionist 

Nutritionist and University of Calgary professor Tanis Fenton says odour is caused by body sweat and bacterial activity, not diet, including carnivorous ones.

Fenton is concerned that diet trends, such as the carnivore diet, can lead to avoidance of medical attention. Particularly, in the United States, with varying levels of access to healthcare. 

“I find that kind of encourages more of these kinds of self-help approaches,” said Fenton.

Fenton questions Ma’s motives for sharing diet advice, noting that her views are not science-based, and says she believes Ma can benefit economically, directly or indirectly, by creating such content on social platforms.

“Social media really magnifies these things, particularly if an influencer picks them up,” said Fenton in an interview with the Calgary Journal.

While diet can influence aspects of the body’s chemistry, there is no scientific evidence that supports Ma’s claim that the carnivore diet eliminates all body odour or produces a floral scent.

So, while Ma’s claims are mostly false, her claim that the diet changed the way she smelled was, in fact, true. 

But it is still unclear whether her odour actually smells like flowers or is more intense.

The Calgary Journal contacted Ma to request a comment, but did not hear back by our deadline. 

Read more of the Calgary Journal’s fact-checking reporting here.

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