What foods cause bad breath
Bad breath is a result from issues in oral hygiene, gastrointestinal condition, and other disorders in the body. The primary reason for breath odor lies on the oral hygiene and the foods you eat. What you are eating dictates the overall wellness of your health. Know what foods cause bad breath as explained in this article.
Alcohol
Alcohol is considered to be a drying agent. Unfortunately, dryness of the mouth is also associated to bad breath. Consumption of alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, and hard liquor makes foul oral odor even worse. Furthermore, the use of alcohol-based mouthwash aggravates your health problem.
Consumption of dairy products
Anaerobic bacteria produce that unpleasant smell of your breath. Lactose intolerant people are incapable of breaking down protein in foods like milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and more. Thus, the build up of amino acids is converted to volatile sulfur compounds on the surface of your tongue and throat.
Sweets
Sugar-rich foods such as chocolates, pastries, cakes contain a compound called altoids. Although altoids give a good taste in your mouth, it doesn’t necessarily equate to giving you a good breath.
Altoids possess two kinds of sugar that serve as fuel and food for the bacteria to multiply. When bacteria are present in your oral cavity, they consume the sugars to produce glycan strands that form thick layers of plaque on your enamel and gums. When this happens, your breath turns foul and leads to decaying of teeth.
Acidic foods
Consumption of highly acidic foods disturbs your body’s natural pH balance. Bacteria thrive on acidic environment thus it is best to avoid or lessen intake of acidic foods. Some foods that are acidic are as follows:
- Coffee
- Citrus juice (orange juice, pineapple juice, prune juice, grapefruit juice)
- Tomato juice
What you eat strongly impacts your health including your oral health. By knowing what foods cause bad breath, you can make the needed dietary changes to say goodbye to oral bad odor.
