Nice pits ;)

I knew there must be a reason I prefer Gam sans deodorant! Here it is- women are aroused by androstadienone, a compound found in men's sweat. Now when I demand that he not wear deodorant I'll have science to back me up! I've got to say though, my preference for BO starts and ends with Gam. Some people have sweat with a smell that's enough to make you gag.

The researchers measured levels of the hormone cortisol in the saliva of 48 female undergraduates at Berkeley, average age of about 21, after the women took 20 sniffs from a jar of androstadienone. Cortisol is secreted by the body to help maintain proper arousal and sense of well-being, respond to stress and other functions.

Cortisol levels in the women who smelled androstadienone shot up within roughly 15 minutes and stayed elevated for up to an hour. Consistent with previous research, the women also reported improved mood, higher sexual arousal, and had increased blood pressure, heart rate and breathing.

Unfortunately Gam doesn't understand my desire to sniff his armpits and usually uses enough deodorant to make me recoil before getting my fix... but the one occasion we were forced to spend nights apart for five weeks over the Christmas/New Year 2002-2003 he did leave a worn jumper for me to cuddle at night :)

Also- my favourite cure for insomnia is to hug Gam while he's asleep and smell his neck... mmm... he's also the only person, male or female, whose armpits I would consider to be aesthetically pleasing. 'Pits are usually pretty unattractive regardless of how hot a body they belong to. Gam's? They look good and they smell good- and now it turns out they're good for my health!

Yes, well, you may not have thought of me as a complete freak before, but now you do. Just try typing 'armpit' into a google image search with safe search off and you'll see I'm not alone.