Top 5 Causes of Bad Breath

1. A dirty mouth

90% of mouth odors come from mouth itself—either from the food you eat or bacteria that’s already there. Mouth odor is like any other body odor—the result of microbes living in the body giving off byproducts. In the mouth, this means bacteria that normally live in the mouth interact with food particles, blood, tissue, etc., to create volatile (i.e., stinky) sulfur compounds. If you don’t clean properly, the bacteria builds up, thus causes bad breath.

Treatment: Keep it clean.

Gum, breath mints, mouthwash… these are all helpful stopgaps, but they won’t cure bad breath. The way to get rid of bad breath for most of us is to brush, floss and tongue scrape twice a day. Yes, for fresh breath, the key is tongue scraping.

2. A mouth out of balance

Certain mouth conditions can exacerbate bacterial growth and odor, such as gum disease and dry mouth. Gum disease causes bloody gums, creating more elements for those pesky bacteria to putrefy. But it is a dry mouth that is the more common cause of bad breath. Saliva helps flush out the mouth, keeping bacteria moving so they don’t settle down and multiply, while drier mouth is a breeding ground for bacteria.

Treatment: Keep it moist

The best way to keep the right saliva balance is to drink plenty of water or liquids. To prevent dry mouth in winter, use a humidifier. If you snore or suffer from postnasal drip, try saline nasal spray to keep nasal passages moist.

3. Stinky foods

If it stinks going in, chances are it’s going to stink coming out. The obvious offenders are onions, garlic, alcohol and tobacco. And foods don’t only create a stench in the mouth. Plant oils are absorbed and the byproducts enter your bloodstream so you are actually breathing the odors out via your lungs three to four hours later.

Treatment: Watch what you eat

Avoiding the main offenders (onion, garlic, tobacco, coffee, etc.) is the best way to avoid food-related bad breath. Dietitian Moloo also cites research that suggests certain foods can help: “Two cups of tea a day can prevent bad breath for some. The polyphenols, a plant chemical in tea, may prevent growth of bacteria responsible for bad breath.” You can also chew parsley, which seems to curb offending smells from other foods and bacteria. And cranberries may eliminate offensive smells and make the bacteria less sticky, which makes plaque less likely to form. Sugarless gums that contain xylotol may kill some bacteria and help reduce plaque.

4. Not enough carbs

High-protein, low-carb diets cause your body to burn stored fats for fuel instead of carbs and can lead to a condition called ketosis. As fat burns, ketones build up in the body, and some are released through breath. Unfortunately ketones don’t smell particularly good.

Treatment: Eat some carbs

5. Illness

Occasionally, bad breath can be a sign of a more serious illness. The most common systemic causes of bad breath are diabetes or GERD (or gastro esophageal reflux disease). Diabetes can also cause ketosis, and the resulting bad breath is sometimes one of first symptoms that lead to diagnosis. GERD is a backflow of acid from the stomach to the esophagus. Less common but possible are liver or kidney disease—when toxins from these organs are excreted through the lungs, they cause bad breath.

Treatment: See your doctor

If tongue scraping and carbo-loading doesn’t do the trick, check with your doctor to see if he or she suspects a more serious cause. Diabetes, GERD or other diseases require specific diagnoses and treatments.