Halitosis - Causes and Cures Pt. 3

It goes without saying that proper oral hygiene is essential. You need to brush your teeth regularly, and be sure to floss well so you don't have any food rotting between your teeth which will cause a smell. There are many herbal toothpastes and mouthwashes available. Don't feel you have to have a toothpaste with fluoride. In fact, avoid fluoride as it is a toxin. If you'd like to try your hand at making your own toothpaste, here's a recipe that should help your breath as well--

Minty Toothpaste:

* 6 teaspoons baking soda
* 1/3 teaspoon salt
* 4 teaspoons glycerin
* 15 drops peppermint or wintergreen extract

Directions: Mix thoroughly. Should be a tooth paste consistency. Store in a container. You'll be surprised with how fresh your mouth feels.

If the cause of bad breath is simply strong-smelling foods such as garlic or onions, of course you can try to avoid those foods. However, if you love those foods, and don't want to give them up, there are alternatives. After eating strong smelling foods, chew a piece of parsley or drink some green tea. Any herb which is high in chlorophyll will neutralize body odors, including gas, body odors, and bad breath.

There's a huge choice of natural products that can help with halitosis. As mentioned, parsley is an excellent choice because it has the highest amount of chlorophyll of any green plant, so it works particularly well at neutralizing bad breath. green tea works as well, because it's usually made from plants which have a high chlorophyll content. A recent study showed that chewing gum with zinc was effective in reducing bad breath. Lemon yet another natural way to neutralize mouth and breath odors, because it's a mild natural antiseptic. Lemon will kill many of the germs which often cause the odors in the first place.

When you brush your teeth, be sure to also clean your tongue. If you examine your tongue at the end of the day, often you can see the buildup of bacteria. If you can see it, it's definitely time to scrape your tongue. It's not healthy to let the amount of flora in your mouth build up. If you've ever had dental surgery, you know dentists like to give antibiotics in case the bacteria in the mouth enters the bloodstream. Dentists know the bacteria in the mouth can be deadly.

Not all toothbrushes can clean the tongue properly. There are tongue cleaning tools that can be used instead. Be careful not to damage your tongue with scratches though, or the bacteria may cause infections. Research has demonstrated that the health of your mouth directly affects the health of your heart. Here's a good recipe for mouthwash that kills bacteria--

Lemon Mouthwash:

* 3/4 cup vodka
* 20 drops lemon essential oil
* 1 1/4 cup distilled water
* 30 drops bergamot essential oil

Directions: Combine the vodka with the essential oils in a bottle, shake well then allow to sit for 1 week. Shake once a day. When ready to use it , dilute the mix with 3 parts water/ 1 part mixture. Use it as a gargle or mouth rinse. Do Not Drink.

It's also important to know that candida yeast live and flourish in your mouth. If the yeast bacteria multiply unchecked, this can be a very common cause of chronic bad breath. When the amount of yeast bacteria are out of control, it morphs into infections such as oral thrush.

You can have too much yeast bacteria in your mouth without developing an infection though, and sometimes this problem is enhanced by eating simple sugars and starches. Yeast feeds off of sugars, and simple starch is converted to sugar almost immediately in your mouth too. So over consumption of these food items can contribute to chronic bad breath problems, and one way to reduce the smell is to simply change your eating habits. Eating more fresh fruits and vegetables for instance, can help neutralize some of the excess sugar in your mouth and cut down on the population of candida yeast.

There are a wide variety of home, natural, and herbal remedies that work well for bad breath. If you have chronic bad breath, of course you should look into herbal and natural treatments to help treat any potential underlying problems. The wonderful thing about herbs is that they seem to know what part of the body needs help and act on it. If chronic bad breath is caused by underlying illness such as diabetes or liver damage, you can still use natural and herbal remedies which specifically address those problems. By treating those problems, you'll naturally treat the bad breath problems at the same time.