Bad Breath Cure? Try Probiotics
You've probably tried a lot of bad breath cures out there and found out a lot of things don't work. They're fanciful, cheap, and sometimes easy. Most of the time, things like gum, mouthwash, and mints just cover things up.
So, what's really going to work to fix the problem?
Why Do You Have Bad Breath?
The first step to figuring out how to cure your bad breath is to figure out why it's happening in the first place. If you try a candida cure, it's not going to fix tonsil stones. So, let's look at a couple of the top causes, and we'll look at some of the cures below.
Poor oral hygiene
Dentists agree, about 90% of all bad breath problems come from poor oral hygiene. Most people need to brush their teeth more often, floss, and rinse their mouth out. They also agree having a diet rich in sugar increases poor oral hygiene.
Mouthwash/Killing good bacteria in the mouth
A hefty chunk of that 90% lies with people using an alcohol-based mouthwash. Yes, these mouthwashes do kill bacteria, but you're supposed to have healthy probiotic bacteria in your mouth. If you kill off everything, the bad stuff grows. And it's the bad stuff that produces the odors.
Also, some research is starting to show that having healthy probiotics in your mouth reduces your desire for sugary foods, developing diabetes, and obesity.
The last 10% have other causes…
Candida overgrowth
For people eating a diet rich in sugar, the yeast candida can grow in your mouth. This gives a yeasty, sour flavor and smell to your mouth. Candida can look like a white coating on your tongue or a fuzzy feeling on your teeth.
Tonsil stones
Your tonsils are part of your immune system that helps flush out waste and bacteria. It's usually a mucusy film that you either swallow or cough out. But, if that accumulates into hard crusty scales or balls, theyre known as tonsil stones. And these things stink. A small number of people can get tonsil stones stuck in their tonsils, and that causes bad breath.
Reflux/Stomach issues
Many people experience acid reflux and digestive problems, and all of those stomach fluids can start working their way up the esophagus and be smelt on a person's breath. Although this is rare, it happens more often in people who are immunocompromised.
Lung/Sinus Problems
A portion of the population will have sinus or lung problems that can cause a foul odor on the breath. Many times, this can be smelt breathing out the nose.
Why Probiotics Is The Bad Breath Cure
Once your doctor identifies the problem, you can take steps to fix it. Probiotics will not cure all types of bad breath, but it will significantly help most of them.
Brushing is #1
Okay, probiotics will not help you brush your teeth more often. If your problem is poor oral hygiene, start brushing your teeth more often, flossing daily, and rinse with a non-alcohol based mouthwash.
Stop alcohol mouthwash is #2
If you're using an alcohol-based mouthwash, especially if you enjoy the burn, stop. You're doing your mouth more harm than good. You can switch to a non-alcohol-based mouthwash or rinse with water.
Most of the world uses sage or chamomile tea, as these both have slightly antibacterial properties and are gentle on the mouth. And even though they can kill some bacteria, they tend to leave the good ones alone.
Now, here's where we start getting into how probiotics can help. You have to repopulate your mouth with healthy probiotics.
Reduce Candida
Because Candida is an overgrowth of yeast, and yeast feeds on sugar, cutting your sugar consumption significantly can reduce Candida. Then, add the probiotics to help out-compete the Candida. Several studies show that the use of probiotics decreases Candida throughout the body.
Rebalances gut bacteria, making digestion better and reducing reflux
If you have any digestive problems, reflux, bad breath, or anything that happens from your mouth to the other end, probiotics can help. These help you digest your food better, settle your stomach, balance the acids, calm your peristalsis contractions, improve your immune system, reduce anxiety, and a whole host of other problems.
Best of all, even though the probiotics are in your gut, they work throughout your whole system to make everything better.
Relaxes the immune system to fight sinus infections/lung problems
With the probiotics in your gut, your immune system relaxes. Several studies show that probiotics help stimulate the immune system to fight bad bacteria, targeting the right type of invaders. It also allows the immune system to go through the rest of your body and attack anything that is causing you problems.
So, your immune system can now turn its attention to the lung problems or the sinus infection that's giving you problems.
You also help sinus and allergy problems by using a good nasal wash. We have a great article on nasal washes that show you how that works.
What To Do If Still No Improvement
If these things haven't worked, you're probably overwhelming your system with problems. Suppose you change your diet to reduce breads, pastas, processed food, dairy, and anything with a chemical or preservative in it. In that case, you will significantly increase your body's ability to fight whatever is going on. If you're not fighting your food, you have more energy to fight what needs to be done.
You should also visit a naturopath to get a full overview of what your body is doing so you can take the right next steps.
