Common Illness - Bad Breath
Bad breath, also known as halitosis, is a common problem that affects everyone at various stages of there lives. The hardest thing about bad breath though, is that we can't determine if we actually do have bad breath for ourselves. The way you become aware of the state of your breath is bound to be a bit embarrassing. Here's a technique to avoid the embarrassment and to check for yourself: Lick your wrist, wait around 5 seconds for the saliva to dry and then smell it. Do you pass the test?
What Causes Bad Breath?
Bad breath is caused by two things - Oral bacteria that lives inside a white coating at the back of your tongue, and other bacteria that lives and accumulates in other areas of the mouth. This bacteria can be related to a number of variables. Food, illness, a dry mouth, smoking, alcohol and gum disease can all cause bad breath.
Foods can cause bad breath as when we eat, our digestive system breaks the food we have consumed down into small molecules. Some of these molecules have very unpleasant odors. These molecules are then distrubuted around the body to provide nourishment via our blood. This blood then travels around the body. Eventually it reaches the lungs where some of these bad smelling molecules seep through. As a result, as we exhale our breath contains some of these foul smelling molecules and thus, we have bad breath. A more simple way that food contaminates our breath is through the chewing and swallowing of food. During this process, food particles can get stuck in the teeth, decaying our mouth and consequently our breath.
Even if we don't have much of a breath problem, we've all heard of and experienced the dreaded "morning breath". That sour, unpleasant breath that accompanies even the best of us when we first wake up. This is because of a drying of the mouth, due to a reduction of saliva flow around the mouth as we sleep. Saliva is our very own mouth wash; washing, rinsing and flushing all the bacteria out of our mouth so that it cant sit there and penetrate and decay any food particles that are present. As a result of either public speaking, aclohol, smoking, stress or dehydration, people experience a dry-mouth and the sour persistent problems that accompany bad breath.
How do you cure Bad Breath?
Oral Hygiene: Oral hygiene is the first, and most important step to curing bad breath. You will find that nearly all cases of minor bad breath are due to bad cleaning patterns. You need to brush and floss your teeth twice a day using flouride toothpaste. It's important to brush your gums, and try to remove any plaque or food debris that may be stuck in between your teeth. A soft bristled brush should be used to clean your tongue and a half yearly visit to the dentist for a clean and a check up should help prevent and cure bad breath.
Diet: Bad breath is commonly caused by the food we eat. Foods such as blue cheese, onions, garlic, pastrami, salami and anchovies should be eliminated as should drinks such as coffee, beer, wine and whiskey. Foods that are high in vitamin C and vitamin A, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, and citrus fruits s hould be consumed regularly for their watery base content and there good dental health properties. These changes of diet will help with general health as well as to cut out toxins that are carried inc heap, low quality take-away food. These toxins are a large contributor to bad breath as they get stored away in the digestive tract where they enter your bloodstream and eventually permeate your lungs to that every breath picks up the offending odor. To further avoid smelly breath, water intake should increase dramatically. 13 glasses of water a day for a man, and 9 glasses of water a day for woman, are the guidelines for proper hydration. A diet that is dominated by fruit and vegies, and accompanied with good hydration will go a long way to curing bad breath.
Herbs: Herbal formulas can be used to clean out stomach heat and to refreshen the lungs and digsetive system. Try taking 1 tsp of liquid chlorophyll after meals to keep the breath fresh, or alternatively take 5 drops of parsely extract after each meal. Parsely has a high chlorophyll content and should also be included in your diet to prevent bad breath odors. Drinking chinese herbal teas can also be used to regularly freshen the breath and are great for the mind and body as well as the breath. Visit your local health professional to find out more.