Bad breath? These five foods can help

You probably know to avoid onions and garlic if your goal is to have clean, fresh breath. These two main ingredients for many meals contain strong smelling oils that move through your bloodstreams to your lungs, coming out in the form of pungent smell when you breathe out. But since you can’t swear off having onions and garlic in your meals forever, there are other foods you can eat more of to mask mouth odour.

Yoghurt

Studies have shown that eating sugar-free yoghurt with probiotic (good) bacteria can reduce bad breath, according to WebMD. Yoghurt does this by lowering the levels of sulphide components in your body that produce odour.

Apples & pears

An apple a day not just keeps the doctor away, but the dentist too. Apples and pears have been found to help remove plaque from your teeth keeping your breath fresh. Dr Gerald P. Curatola, clinical associate professor at the New York University College of Dentistry told EveryDayHealth:

Fruits help with the production of saliva, which is essential to nourishing and rebalancing the natural oral ecology of the mouth.

Spices and herbs

A definite oldie but goldie trick to maintaining fresh breath is by chewing on fresh herbs such and mint and parsley, according to the news website, Yardbarker. Cinnamon, basil, rosemary or cardamom and others contain chlorophyll which help to deodorize your mouth. Their benefits go beyond folklore, so why not go ahead and try them?

Nuts

Chewing almond and other nuts is a sure way to keep bad breath at bay, according to EveryDayHealth. The crunchiness of nuts and vegetables when eaten raw, helps to loosen trapped food particle in the teeth. Dr Curatola explained:

The fiber-rich content of fruits, vegetables, and nuts also acts like ‘tiny toothbrushes’ on teeth and has been shown to keep odor-causing bacteria from staining teeth.

Water

Above all else, try to stay hydrated. Water literally rinses out your mouth so keeping your buccal regions moist is definitely a good way to having clean breath.

Sources used:

Yardbarker: 10 foods that cause bad breath and 10 that combat it

EveryDayHealth: Foods That Mask Bad Breath

WebMD: Bad Breath: Good and Bad Foods

Read more:

⋙ Bad breath: Watch out for these common foods that can sour your breath

⋙ Halitosis: Foolproof ways to check if you have bad breath

⋙ Why do we get bad breath when we wear a mask and how can we avoid it?