Food and Halitosis

Everybody occasionally perceives a relationship between food and halitosis: some foods just seem to stay on the breath long after they’ve been eaten and not always in a pleasant way: garlic, onions, curry dishes, strong cheeses, coffee, and alcohol are all common examples. Some of these foods, like garlic, hang around because of certain compounds they contain; others just have a strong smell and tend to linger while we digest them unless we take special measures. Other foods, however, impact the breath in more complicated ways.

In a broader sense, foods that cause halitosis potentially include high protein foods, sweet foods, and acidic foods—and it has nothing to do with the way they smell. In all cases, the connection is that the substance either provides food for the oral bacteria that produce bad breath, or it provides an environment that makes it easy for those bacteria to live and reproduce. For some people, the relationship between a certain food and halitosis may be so strong that it’s better to avoid that food altogether.

Protein foods include eggs, dairy products, red meat, poultry products, fish and seafood, nuts, dried beans, and a few others. Among these, the dairy products are notorious for causing bad breath, while beef, chicken, and fish are sometimes suspected as well. The association between other types of protein food and halitosis is not as strong so it might be wise to lean towards these other choices. Remember that the foods that cause halitosis may well be different for different people, so finding the culprit may be case of trial and error.

Sugar is a simpler matter. Sweet foods that cause halitosis usually contain glucose or another sugar, which provides food energy to bacteria just as it does to humans. We all know that sugar is a problem for healthy teeth; it’s also a problem for healthy breath, weight control, blood sugar levels and other health issues. It’s just better to avoid it as much as possible. If you must indulge in sweet food and halitosis is a concern, brush your teeth and rinse your mouth as soon as possible and/or investigate artificial sweeteners (artificial sweeteners have health concerns too, so make informed choices).

Acid food and halitosis goes together because the oral bacteria that produce breath odors thrive in an acid environment. Increasing the acidity of your mouth by taking in acid foods or liquids can encourage bacteria to multiply, thereby increasing the odor. Coffee, tomato juice, citrus juices, and pineapple juice are all recognized as potential foods that cause halitosis. It’s a shame, because people tend to like acid food and beverages, while neutral and alkaline foods have a tendency to taste bland. Again, if you can’t give up acid foods, practice regular and careful oral hygiene so that the pH of your mouth can return to normal quickly after eating and drinking.

Eliminating Bad Breath

Anyone who’s been there will tell you that eliminating bad breath is not easy. In many cases, it’s not clear what’s causing the problem in the first place, and even when it’s possible to determine where the bad odor is coming form, it’s not always easy to determine why. Without a clear cause and effect relationship, many people are stuck with just treating the symptom without really dealing with the underlying problem.

Still, in uncomplicated halitosis, scientists are drawing close to finding a way to eliminate bad breath. We know that the bad odor associated with halitosis is actually a group of gases produced by bacteria in the mouth and throat. Collectively, these gases are called volatile sulphur compounds, or VSC, and they include hydrogen sulphide, dimethyl sulphide, and methyl mercaptan. Eliminating bad breath means literally getting rid of the bacteria that produce these foul smelling compounds.

Halitosis has been attributed to various oral conditions including gum disease, dental caries, poor oral hygiene, sinus problems, abnormal tonsils and other things. These things do play a part, but many people looking for a way to eliminate bad breath don’t have any of them – there’s nothing obviously wrong, but the bacteria flourish anyway and the bad odor persists. Again, until we know more, the only thing to do is focus on eliminating bad breath with medications and products that target the bacteria.

Antiseptics and antibiotics are one popular way to eliminate bad breath, but they are probably not the best option: not only do they target good bacteria as well as bad, but alcohol also dries out delicate oral tissues, which can actually lead to bad breath. A better approach is probably to change the ecosystem in the mouth, eliminating bad breath by making the mouth an unwelcoming place for anaerobic bacteria (anaerobes live in the absence of oxygen) – the ones that produce VSCs.

An obvious way to eliminate bad breath by fighting anaerobes, is to introduce more oxygen into the mouth: regular tooth brushing, flossing, tongue scraping, and rinsing remove debris and mucous coatings that block the flow of oxygen to oral tissues. Good oral hygiene does help! Some commercial products for halitosis also help with eliminating bad breath by delivering oxygen to places it normally doesn’t get to.

Hopefully, future research will reveal why oral bacteria get out of balance in the first place and spark new ideas for a way to eliminate bad breath for good.