AN NHS doctor has revealed how having smelly feet might actually be good for you.
It’s often a source of embarrassment and something we try to avoid, but a TikTok medic says having feet that pong is a positive sign.
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Dr Karan Raj, who has 3.9 million followers, explained why a cheesy odour is often emitted by sweaty feet.
He said in a video: “I want to share with you a fact that I recently learned that I just can’t believe – and it’s pretty incredible.
“There’s a reason we might have stinky feet – and stinky feet might just save your life.
“First of all, you have to understand that from your ears to your a**ehole your body is riddled with life forms.
“The surface of your skin probably contains a thousand different species of bugs, and a lot of these bugs love to feed off of things that ooze out of your body like oils.
“Now, back to stinky feet. There’s a species of bacteria called bacillus subtilis that eats leucine, which is a common amino acid found in foot sweat.
“When this bacteria eats leucine, it farts out isoflavic acid – the cheesy, stinky, foot smell.”
He added: “But why are our bodies feeding this weird bacteria? Good question.
“Our bodies are keeping around this bacteria because it produces chemicals and antibiotics that keep away foot fungus.”
Foot fungus can be dangerous as it can cause permanent damage to the nails.
And in more serious cases can lead to other infections that can spread beyond the feet, such as the hands and groin.
So it’s vital that we have this bacteria that is helping keep our feet in tip top shape, albeit with an extra fragrance that we might have to learn to love…
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