Is your low carb diet causing your bad breath?

There's a great article on webmd on low carb diets and the potential side effect they have of causing bad breath.

The article basically states that certain chemicals are released in the breath as the body burns fat instead of carbs. These chemicals are called ketones (and anyone who has been on, or knows about the Atkins low carb diet will have heard of ketosis which is when the body reached fat burning state) and unfortunately they don't smell that great.

Every cloud has a silver lining and all that, the article does go on to say that if your breath stinks, it may be a sign that you've been sticking to the low carb diet pretty well.

There's a quote from the senior director of the council on scientific affairs at the American Dental association (now there's a mouthful if you excuse the pun!) who is quoted in the piece, saying:

"Carbohydrates aren't readily available, so you start to use other fats and proteins as your source of energy, and as a result you are going to get a breath problem,"

Here's the article in full, makes good reading:

http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/guide/low-carb-diets-can-cause-bad-breath

What do you think? Do you think it's worth having breath so bad even your dog kiss you but losing a couple of pounds or two? Feel free to add your comments.

Fight bad breath | first we have to look at the causes of halitosis

I'll say it upfront first of all...there's rarely just one cure-all bad breath cure. Because often people have a bad breath for more than one reason. For example, they sleep with their mouths open and their mouths get dry and bacteria starts to multiply. So, yes, you can get some excellent stinky breath solutions but if you continue to sleep with your mouth wide open, eat garlic for every meal, have tonsil stones and never brush your teeth, I'd say there's a good bet your bad breath will continue. Sorry to be so brutal

So, let's take a closer look into the potential causes of bad breath.

In essence, bad breath that comes from the mouth (chronic halitosis can come from other parts of the body beyond the mouth..that's covered in a separate post) is caused by the bacteria that lives, eats, multiplies and basically parties in your mouth, particularly on the back on the tongue, and in the crevices between the teeth. Think of them as devilish little creatures feeding on your leftover food particles.

To discuss it in scientific terms, the anaerobic bacteria which is causing your bad breath emits certain chemicals including:

1. Hydrogen sulfide
2. Methyl Mercaptan
3. Dimethyl sulfide

If you've ever taken a chemistry class at school, you'll probably remember giggling as the teacher passed around a test tube of hydrogen sulfide. This is the smell of rotten eggs. And get this, not only do these chemicals smell, they also cause the production of more waste products which have 'lovely' odors of their own. Gross eh?

And then there's the smell of putrifying food called 'cadaverine'. Yes like the word cadavre or body. That's the leftover food in your mouth rotting and emitting a smell which is often described as 'sweaty feet'


And back to 'Xerostomia" which is the dentists' term for dry mouth. Dry mouth is when the usual flow of saliva has stopped for whatever reason. Dry mouth can be caused by certain drugs...some antidepressants for example, for sleeping with your mouth open in a dry room, tobacco and certain foods such as milk and cheese.

So I hope that's given you at least a quick introduction to bad breath causes. Once you've identified the cause of your halitosis then it stands to reason that's it's a lot easier to come up with a bad breath remedy.

Basic bad breath cure | don't forget to brush your tongue

Basic bad breath cure #1

If...make that... WHEN you brush your teeth twice a day (and floss too), make sure you brush you tongue. Often the most yuckky stinky bacteria lives on your tongue, especially on the back of your tongue. Pull your tongue out and look in the mirror and check if it's looking healthy.



Image courtesy of Getty Images

Welcome to Bad Breath Cures. Help is at hand

Welcome to Bad Breath Cures. This site provides tips for those suffering from the unfortunate problem of stinky breath. You are not alone. If you have any problems, questions or there's any related topic you wish us to cover in our ongoing search for the best bad breath solutions please feel free to leave comments in the comment box.


This blog will be updated regularly so hope you'll bookmark and come back and visit once in a while. Meanwhile, you want a quick, cheap and natural solution to bad breath, you could check out a link to a product called TheBadBreathReport, click here for an immediate treatment for halitosis