Bad Breath

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Bad Breath

Are your friends doing the limbo lean every time you open your mouth? Are your three favorite food groups Garlic, Onions and Chili Powder?

Well, your diet certainly sounds tasty. But bad breath may be a problem. Lots of things can cause it—spicy foods, medication, tobacco and coffee, to name a few. One of the most likely culprits is gum disease caused by bacteria buildup in your mouth.

The natural remedies in this chapter, used with your doctor’s approval, could help freshen things up, according to some health professionals. But if bad breath persists, it could be a sign of something serious, such as tonsillitis, liver or kidney problems or diabetes. In that case, see your doctor for a diagnosis.

See Your Medical Doctor When... Your bad breath lingers for more than a day and there’s no reason for it, such as spicy foods or tobacco use.

Aromatherapy

A drop of pure peppermint essential oil on the tongue is a quick breath freshener, says Victoria Edwards, an aromatherapist in Fair Oaks, California.

For information on preparing and administering essential oils, including cautions about their use, see page19. For information on purchasing essential oils, refer to the resource list on page 633.

Ayurveda

“Chew a few fennel seeds,” says Vasant Lad, B.A.M.S., M.A.Sc., director of the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Fennel’s clean licorice taste will freshen breath, according to Dr. Lad.

Food Therapy

“Bad breath is mostly caused by fermentation in the intestinal tract,” says Elson Haas, M.D., director of the Preventive Medical Center of Marin in San Rafael, California, and author of Staying Healthy with Nutrition. “People who have a lot of yeast in their intestinal tracts, which ferments foods such as cheeses and baked goods, are especially prone.” While Dr. Haas thinks it’s wise to limit those foods, as well as sugar, alcohol, vinegar and other fermented fare, he also recommends upping your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables. Besides having a high water content, which can help overcome bad breath caused by dry mouth, these foods have a cleansing effect in the intestinal tract, says Dr. Haas.

Herbal Therapy

Carry fennel seeds, anise seeds or cloves to chew on after meals or whenever you feel your breath needs sweetening, says Varro E. Tyler, Ph.D., professor of pharmacognosy at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. He suggests chewing two or three fennel or anise seeds or one clove as needed.

Homeopathy

“If you can smell someone’s bad breath from across the room, that’s usually a sign that he needs Mercurius,” says Richard D. Fischer, D.D.S., a dentist and homeopath in Annandale, Virginia, and president of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology. Take a 30X dose of Mercurius three or four times a day for three to four days to curb offending breath, he advises. In addition, he says to gargle at least once a day with a solution of 20 drops of Calendula tincture diluted in eight ounces of water.

Mercurius and Calendula can be purchased in many health food stores. To purchase homeopathic remedies by mail, refer to the resource list on page 637.

Hydrotherapy

Avoid bad breath by drinking lots of water and peppermint tea, both spiked with a pinch of anise, caraway or cinnamon, suggests Agatha Thrash, M.D., a medical pathologist and co-founder and co-director of Uchee Pines Institute, a natural healing center in Seale, Alabama. Peppermint tea is available in tea bag form in most health food stores.

Reflexology

Be sure to hit the reflex points for the stomach, liver and intestine and all of the points on the sides and bottom of each big toe when working your feet, says St. Petersburg, Florida, reflexologist Dwight Byers, author of Better Health with Foot Reflexology. (To work your big toes, use whichever technique you find most comfortable.)

To help you locate these points, consult the foot reflex chart on page 592. For instructions on how to work the points, see “Your Reflexology Session” on page 110.

Yoga

Daily practice of the head-to-knee pose may help, says Stephen A. Nezezon, M.D., yoga teacher and staff physician at the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. This pose (page 616) can improve liver function, which can have a direct effect on your breath, says Dr. Nezezon.