# Interesting article about bad breath



## yellow11 (May 14, 2011)

Hi all, I came across this article about bad breath a few weeks ago now. I meant to post on here about it but between one thing and another I haven't got round to it till now.
Here is a link to the article. http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/health/article4159868.ece
Unfortunately the London Times is one of those newspapers which require you to take out a subscription to read their paper online. So seeing that it might be a bit of a waste to take out a subsciption just to read one article here's an outline of what it contains -

Dr Harold Katz, a dentist and bacteriologist who trained at UCLA is known as the bad-breath guru of Beverly Hills and has found fame as the man who helps the rich and famous to overcome halitosis..."the worst cases I've seen are supermodels he says. They smoked and without exception they skipped breakfast; that's just a recipe for disaster".
It was with the halimeter, a disappointingly antiquated-looking machine, that he promises to give an accurate reading of how smelly one's breath is. the halimeter works by measuring the concentration of sulphide gases in parts per billion. "The human nose starts to detect anything above 100 parts per billion of sulphide gases as smelling unpleasant"..
Katz says diets and workouts are the biggest enemies of sweet-smelling breath. A few years ago it was the high-protein, low-carb Atkins-style diet that led to queues outside his clinic. "I became very popular at that time...the mechanism by which bacteria create odour is by breaking down proteins, If you are overdoing the protein intake, you are stuffing your oral bacteria so that they's can't cope. Essentially what you smell from the mouth of a low-carb dieter is bacterial poop" Now he says, it is 5:2 dieters who fill his appointment book. "I'm not saying the diet doesn't work, but it will make your breath smell...when you are alseep at night, your brain knows you're not eating and it turns down saliva production. Saliva contains oxygen, the natural enemy of the bacteria that create oral odours, and it is saliva that usually keeps breath nice and fresh. Once you eat, you kick start saliva production. But when you fast or skip breakfast like the models I treat, you end up with 'morning breath' that lasts all day. It's not good.
Add exercise and the outlook is grim. With both diets and hard workouts the production of ketones - chemicals released in the breath as the body burns fat because insufficient carbohydrates are available for fuel - can compound odour problems. "Post-exercise ketosis produces a different kind of bad smell but it produces just as much of a problem.
Most people he says get used to their own oral odour - "there's a process the brain goes through called acclimation...you get used to your own scent" If you want an idea of hw bad your breath is in yourm outh you could try licking the back of your hand, letting it dry for a dew seconds then smelling it.
If you smoke and drink you should cut down. Sugar feeds bacteria and so any sugary foods, breath mints or drinks should be limited. Sinus problems, tonsil stones, gum disease and allergies can all bring on halitosis. "There's a hormonal influence, which means women tend to suffer more at certain times of the month and an age issue as people over 25 gradually produce less and less saliva. "Taking care of the tongue is also important. Your tongue is lie a shagpile carpet and should be brushed gently on a daily basis. Generally the rougher and drier the tongue the more likely it is you'll have bad breath as it's a great environment for bacteria to multiply"...a few days of switching your diet habits, eating the right things and using the right products can usually rectify the worst bad breath, Katz says.

Things to avoid - Peanut butter - It's the worst thing for your breath, says Katz. "So sticky that even saliva can't wash it away".
Tongue scrapers - Can be too harsh. The scraping can lead to irritation of the tongue, causing more places for bad-breath bacteria to hide. Use a soft-bristled brush instead.
Parsley - Won't casue bad breath but no truth in the claim it will cure it.
Tomatoes, pineapple and citrus fruit - all contain high levels of acid, which causes bacteria to reproduce more rapidly. Bad-breath bacteria love a more acidic environment. apples, celery, cucumbers and carrots are natural cleansers that promote saliva production; a much better choice.
Coffee - very acidic.Choose green tea instead; it contains polyphenols to help elimate sulphur compounds and reduce oral bacteria. It kills the microbes that make our mouths stink.
Supplements - Supplemets that contain garlic oil or powder are loaded with allyl methyl sulphide, the compund that gives garlic its instantly recognisable smell. The result? Bad breath. Omega-3 fatty acid supplements are often derived from fish oils. Oils from fish tissue can make your breath smell rotten.


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## yellow11 (May 14, 2011)

To my non expert mind I really find this article fascinating as I think it links in very closely to our leaky gas probelms. Unfortunately I think i may suffer from bad breath but seeing how I have lg also it can be hard to know
where all these bad smells are coming from at times. I do know whenever I floss my teeth I nearly always get a bad taste in my mouth.
Anyway one interesting thing was when Dr Katz was talking about acclimation and how we get used to out own scent, I suppose that explains why we can't smell our lg though most people figured out that for themselves already I guess.
One thing that jumped out at me was when he talked about how at root bad breath is caused by certain types of bacteria breaking down protein, "bacterial poop" in his memorable phrase. Like I think that corresponds to the process of gut putrefaction which is bacteria acting on undigested protein in our guts which an alternative medic diagnosed me with. 
Also it was interesting how these odour producing bacteria thrive in a very acidic mouth, I remember reading before how some people recommend eating lots of alkalising foods to combat body odour, it must be based on the same principal. (The only real thing that came out of a colonoscopy I did a few years ago was that my insides were very raw indicating apparently I produce too much acid).
On the proboards body odour forum and the tmau forum you'll find women posters complain how their odour fluctuates around their monthly cycles so thats another similarity between bad breath and more general malodour disorders.
For a lot of lgers the temptation is to eat very little if they have to go to work/school so it might be worth noting Dr Katz's warning about skipping breakfast. 
It's such a pity there's not a Dr Katz out there for our problems but reading the article it does bring home to me how halitosis is quite closely linked to body odour and leaky gas, its the same basic processes going on.
(Which is not to say of course 100% of lgers have the same causes).
It was nice to see how he thinks bad breath can be cured in a few days, certainly lg can't be cured as quickly but it should give us hope we too can get on top of our problems.


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## MelissaSewell (Dec 27, 2014)

Quite an interesting article, actually an eye opener . I consulted my doctor at weekend hour Silver Spring, MD about my breath and he suggested me to have lots of water and also gave a mouth washer that helps to quite an extent .


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