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Written By: Admin | Updated : May 21, 2014 12:07 PM IST
A metallic taste in the mouth or ammonia breath is also a symptom of kidney disease.
Bad breath, or halitosis, can put off even your near and dear ones. And if you think the gums and mints available in the market will solve your problem, you are in for a surprise. Bad breath has various causes and these products just mask the odour. They do not get to the root of the problem. So you need to fight the cause of the odour rather than the odour itself. But do you really know what the odour offenders are?
Here are the reasons for bad breath you did not know about:
1. The major sources of bad breath are bacteria and decaying food particles. Bad oral hygiene can cause food particles to remain in your mouth and promote build-up of bacteria. This can not only lead to tooth decay and gum disease but also to persistent bad breath. Similarly, dentures that are not cleaned properly can be a hub for growth of odour-causing bacteria.(Read: Are you brushing your teeth right?)
2. Onion and garlic are the quintessential part of Indian cuisine both for their flavour and for their medicinal values. But sadly they have the dubious distinction of causing bad breath too! The foods we eat are digested in the stomach, absorbed into the blood and eventually carried to the lungs and have their traces in our breath too! Thus foods with strong odours like onions, garlic and coffee can leave you with bad breath and bad body odour too.
3. You may go on a very low-carb diet in an attempt to lose weight but end up with bad-smelling breath. Fasting or being on a very low-carb diet forces your body to break down fats for energy and release bad smelling ketones in your mouth.
4. Saliva neutralizes the acids produced by plaque and also helps remove dead cells and food particles that accumulate in the mouth. Hence dry mouth (xerostomia), a condition resulting from reduced or absent saliva flow, can also turn your breath really nasty. A dry mouth could be due to various reasons like salivary gland problems, mouth breathing, etc. Certain medicines like blood pressure pills, anti-depressants and antihistamines may also cause dry mouth and make your mouth stink. (Read: Why you shouldn't neglect a dry mouth)
5. Smoking or using other tobacco products can make you end up smelling like an ashtray. And it doesn't stop there. Smoke particles also dry the mouth causing odour-causing bacteria to run riot.
6. Excessive drinking causes your body to release some of the metabolised products of alcohol through your lungs and through sweat. It can also dehydrate you and dry out your mouth. Hence heavy alcohol consumption can cause a stale odour not only from your skin but also from your mouth.
7. Respiratory tract infections like common cold, sinusitis, etc. can be sources of bad breath due to dripping down of the bacteria-laden nasal or sinus secretions at the back of the throat.
8. People suffering from uncontrolled diabetes have what is called a typical 'ketone breath' which is due to the body burning fat instead of glucose.
9. Lumps of food, mucus and bacteria that are calcified and appear as white spots on your tonsils, also called tonsil stones, can produce bad breath too.
10. Acid reflux from the stomach to the oesophagus in GERD might produce malodour. Kidney or liver failure can also cause toxins to be excreted through the lungs and produce distinct chemical odours in breath.
Read more about causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of diabetes.
The post 10 reasons for bad breath you didn't know about appeared first on Colgate Total Blog.
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