Bad Breath is one of the most embarrassing problems that anybody could have, it interferes with every aspect of your life, from your social and sex life, to work and business life.
It's estimated that anywhere upwards of 90% of people will suffer from it at some point in their life, whether it be true halitosis or just the dreaded morning Breath. Bad Breath can be responsible for severe depression, and even end relationships with your friends, family or business associates.
We all worry about our breath at some point, as it is difficult smell your own breath, and people don't normally tell you about your problem. So why not try licking your wrist, then allow the saliva to air dry, and smell it yourself.
Or you can try scraping your tongue with a spoon, allow the residue to dry, and smell that, if the smell isn't too bad then you should feel pretty safe about your breath. However, as we do come accustomed to our own breath, you can always ask your partner, or trusted friend to smell your breath and be honest with you.
There are also home tests, that involve taking a swab of your tongue to determine the amount of sulfur compounds on there, you may have to take several tests at different times of the day to get an average, but they can be accurate. You can also use the portable halimeter, go to one of the new breath clinics popping up everywhere, or consult your doctor for an opinion. They should be able to take a swab, and determine how bad the sulfur compounds are.
So what causes bad breath :
While many people believe that Bad Breath originates from the stomach, 85 to 90% actually originates from the mouth, and the majority of that is from a small triangle area on the back of your tongue.
Your tongue contains anaerobic bacteria who's function is to break down proteins in your mouth, from food, mucus, and damaged tissue, the results of which creates odorous by-products such as volatile sulfur compounds like Hydrogen Sulphide, comparable to rotten eggs, Cadaverine comparable to corpses, Putrescine comparable to rotten meat and many more. You will always have some level of these VSCs, but you can decrease them so they are not detectable by the human nose.
These anaerobic bacteria live between tiny fibers called Papillae located on your tongue, this is because anaerobic means without oxygen, so they cannot survive on the surface of the tongue, they must bury between the Papillae. The reason the majority of them are located at the back of the tongue, is the front of the tongue is self cleaning, and often rubs against your teeth, and the roof of your mouth.
Things to do before treatment that can cut out bad breath :
Before treatment of bad breath certain things should be done to help combat it. The majority of bad breath is caused by a dry mouth, as your saliva contains oxygen to fight off the bad bacteria. Some things that are responsible for a dry mouth are listed below.
• The biggest cause of bad breath and dry mouth, is not drinking enough water, our bodies constantly need water and if our mouth is dry, then we are already dehydrated.
• The next is alcohol, and alcohol based mouthwashes, as these dry out the mouth. Even antiseptic mouthwash wears off in three hours allowing the bacteria to grow back in abundance worse than before. These mouthwashes only mask the problem not deal with the underlying cause, and can worsen the condition in the long run.
• Poor diet and smoking can also cause a dry mouth. Highly processed food, and food with high protein content, make the perfect food for the bacteria to break down and cause them smells as well.
• Certain medications such as cold remedies, blood pressure pills, antidepressants, and antihistamines, also have a drying effect. Talk with your doctor to see if they are really necessary, don't just stop taking them without your doctor's permission.
• Coffee has a high acid content, whether it contains caffeine or not. Bacteria thrive the more acidic your mouth is. PH below 7 is acidic and above is alkaline, your normal mouth is 6.5, so you want to push it towards 7.
• While chewing gum actually increases saliva, which is good to combat bad breath, the sugar content will actually do more harm than good, so make sure if you chew gum that it is sugarless.
Never use antibiotics to kill off the bacteria on your tongue, as most people have Candida on their tongue, which is kept in check by the helper bacteria, once the bacteria is wiped out the Candida is set free and can cause thrush or worse, you also run the risk of creating resistant strains of bacteria if you don't kill off all the bacteria.
Luke Lister was a former Candida sufferer who developed an all natural Candida Cleanse click the link to visit his site or go to http://www.naturalcandidacleanse.com
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