diff --git a/notmuch-index-message.cc b/notmuch-index-message.cc
index 3270aac7..79ec81e4 100644
--- a/notmuch-index-message.cc
+++ b/notmuch-index-message.cc
@@ -379,8 +379,8 @@ gen_terms_body_str (Xapian::TermGenerator term_gen,
 	}
 	line_end = next_line - 1;
 
-	/* Trim whitespace. */
-	while (*next_line && isspace (*next_line))
+	/* Get to the next non-blank line. */
+	while (*next_line == '\n')
 	    next_line++;
 
 	/* Skip lines that are quotes. */