Bad Breath - You Are What You Eat

You've heard the term, "you are what you eat" and it certainly applies when it comes to bad breath. Certain foods can give you bad breath.

Foods like garlic, onions, peppers and more all have a role in creating bad breath. When the food you eat is released into the bloodstream, the lungs will expel the odor.

While garlic and onions seem to top the list of bad breath offenders, there are other foods that are just as likely to produce bad breath. A few of these are:

- Meats that are spicy like pepperoni, salami and pastrami
- Cheese, especially soft cheeses
- Fish
- Dairy foods
- Seafood
- Eggs

Practically every food that is high in protein is also a harbinger of bad breath. In fact practically one third of our diet is comprised of high protein foods.

This can be especially distressing if you are on a "high protein" diet. The obvious result is that when on a diet such as this bad breath will become significantly more annoying.

Short of totally eliminating protein from our diet (not recommended) what else can we do? At the risk of sounding redundant let's review some of our earlier discussion.

Drink plenty of water. Dehydration certainly won't help to improve the situation.

As difficult as it may be, clean your teeth and tongue thoroughly each time you eat anything that is high in protein.

Try and adjust your diet to contain less high protein foods and more high fiber foods. Foods high in fiber naturally produce some of those important enzymes we previously discussed.

Fiber will help fight constipation. Homeopathic healers report that regular bowel movements help to rid the body of toxins that contribute to bad breath.

Not only will changing to a higher fiber diet help your bad breath, it will also improve the overall health of your digestive system.

Instead of snacking on junk food, try chewing on fresh fruits and vegetables, especially the crunchy foods. Apples, pears, celery and carrots are good suggestions. They will aid in enzyme production and the natural chewing of the crunchy foods will stimulate the gums.

Consider adding that yogurt we mentioned as a permanent part of your daily food intake. Again, it will promote the production of the live bacteria you need.

Stimulate the flow of saliva to keep the mouth moist. Remember to avoid ineffectual commercial mouthwashes. Chewing on a clove or adding a drop of cinnamon or peppermint oil on your tongue will be much more productive.

If you are having post-nasal drip, use an over the counter medication to reduce the flow of the noxious drainage of the draining mucous.

There are numerous over the counter treatments for bad breath, the majority of which we have already reported to be ineffectual.

One type of product does appear to bear some scrutiny, however. Advertised as a "new innovation" in mouthwashes they are called Chlorine Dioxide Mouthwashes.

They claim to totally eliminate bad breath by attacking the sulfur compounds that cause bad breath rather than masking them as conventional mouthwashes do.

They make a provocative case however, when you understand that chlorine dioxide has been used in municipal water supplies for decades. Use your own judgment, but it might not hurt to give one a try.
Further research shows another fairly recent medical treatment for periodontal disease that may present some hope for remedying bad breath by treating the periodontal condition.