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What about all those smelly foods we love?
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.
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