4 Things That Could Be Causing your Halitosis That You Didn’t Know About & How to Get Rid of Them Naturally
If you’ve been noticing that lately you’ve been waking up in the morning with a sour taste in your mouth you’re not alone. A lot of people experience the same thing and then they wonder why it keeps happening.
They brush and floss their teeth at night before they go to sleep but they still wake up with the same nasty taste in their mouth that causes their breath to smell terrible. You might have shrugged it off at first saying it was nothing, but now you’re hearing little remarks about how bad your breath smells and you want to do something about it.
You brush your teeth, floss, and rinse your mouth out with mouthwash after you get up but it doesn’t stop the foul odor from returning. The truth is, what you’re dealing with has nothing to do with your oral hygiene.
What you may be suffering from is halitosis and you don’t even know it. Halitosis is simply chronic bad breath which may leave for a very short period after you eat a mint or brush your teeth, but always comes back.
It may seem you’ve tried everything in the book to rid yourself of this persistent bad breath but nothing seems to work. However, you must really learn what’s causing the problem in order to get rid of halitosis for good.
Causes of Halitosis
Most people automatically believe that if your breath is always smelling funky then chances are you aren’t practicing good oral hygiene like brushing your teeth and flossing on a daily basis.
However, neglecting proper oral hygiene practices isn’t always the cause.
There are a number of other lesser known causes that can make your breath smell horrible regardless of how well you brush your teeth or floss on a daily basis.
The great thing about this is once you realize the root cause and attack it head on you’ll be able to finally rid yourself of your halitosis and not have to worry about it coming back.
Gut Imbalance
An unhealthy gut is one of the biggest reasons a lot of people are suffering from chronic halitosis. Most of them aren’t even aware of this because it’s hard to believe what’s going on in your stomach can make its way up to your mouth and cause your breath to stink.
However, if the balance between the good and bad bacteria in your digestive system isn’t in a healthy state it can lead to various health problems that will cause halitosis.
Until you return your gut flora back to its optimal state your breath is always going to smell sour and stinky no matter how well you brush your teeth and tongue. You’re going to have to treat the problem from the inside to get the external results you desire.
One of the best ways to improve your gut health so your halitosis completely stops is to reduce the amount of bacteria you have in your stomach. Eating probiotic rich foods such as yogurt is a great way to achieve this. Probiotics are the good bacteria you need to fight off the bad bacteria and restore the healthy balance in your digestive system.
Also, most foods rich with probiotics have been fermented, which means they’re also high in bacteria fighting enzymes that will benefit your digestive system as well.
You could also take probiotic supplements that will stop and reverse the overgrowth of bacteria. You can find probiotics at your local pharmacy and take them as directed.
Other than improving your gut health you could also use oral probiotics that will introduce more of the healthy bacteria in your mouth and muscle out the bad bacteria causing your breath to not stay fresh.
The main difference between the two is that probiotics get rid of halitosis indirectly by creating a healthy environment in your gut, while oral probiotics deal with the odor causing bacteria in your mouth directly.
However, as effective as oral probiotics are you will still need to get your gut functioning in a healthy manner again in order to prevent the bad taste and odor from returning in your mouth in the near future.
Tonsil Stones
Tonsil stones is a condition many people don’t know about (even people who have them). They can be described as being nasty little balls of yuck that form in the crypts or pockets of your tonsils.
They form when leftover particles of food, mucus, bacteria, and other debris build up within the tonsils. As you can imagine this combination doesn’t smell too good. It’s pretty much a guarantee if you have tonsil stones you’ll also have bad breath to deal with all day long until you remove them.
The good news is there are various tonsil stone removal methods you can use to get rid of them. One of the best ways to remove tonsil stones is to gargle your mouth wish some salt water. Simply mix a tablespoon or two with a glass of warm water and then gargle it for a few minutes before you spit it out.
A much simpler way to get rid of tonsil stones is to use a Q-tip. Sometimes they’re hard to find so get in front of a mirror and use a flashlight if you have to so you can see what you’re doing as you take your time and poke them out your tonsils.
Yeast Overgrowth
Also called candida, yeast overgrowth is another common cause of chronic bad breath many people don’t know about.
Making simple changes in your daily diet is the best and easiest way to stop the overgrowth of yeast in your body and get rid of bad breath once and for all. One of these diet adjustments you should focus on involves limiting or completely removing sugar and grains from your daily diet.
This can be tough if you have a sweet tooth but it’s well worth it if you want to eliminate your halitosis from your life once and for all. The key is not to completely remove sugar from your diet all at once but gradually lower the amount you’re consuming each day.
As you begin reducing your sugar intake you must begin adding more foods that are a good source of probiotics. If your bad breath is due to the overgrowth of yeast it means you are lacking probiotics (good bacteria) in your body.
Some of the best probiotic foods that will stop candida overgrowth include:
- Kefir –This fermented food looks a lot like yogurt. It’s a dairy product that’s made with kefir grains and milk. It naturally contains up to 30 different strains of the probiotics that will reverse the yeast overgrowth and stop your bad breath permanently.
- Sauerkraut – This is a popular topping on hot dogs and it’s also a great source of probiotics. Adding this food to your daily diet will give you more than enough of the good bacteria you need to cure your halitosis for good.
- Kimchi –Fermented vegetables like cabbage are used to make this food loaded with probiotics. Simply eat it just the way it is to promote the growth of good bacteria in your body that will stop the yeast in its tracks.
Grains, white rice, and white bread should also be limited or avoided if yeast overgrowth is the cause of your chronic bad breath.
Acid Reflux
Also known as GERD, acid reflux can cause bad breath due to all the stomach acid and digested food particles it causes to get regurgitated up through the esophagus in to the mouth. The backflow of stomach acid into your mouth also leaves you with a nasty, sour taste in your mouth as well as stinky breath.
In order to stop your halitosis symptoms for good you have to treat the acid reflux. The first thing you should do is learn what foods you eat that trigger the reflux.
Once you know what triggers your reflux you can simply avoid them. Acid reflux triggers will vary from person to person so the smart thing to do would be to track what you eat during the day. It may take a little time and patience but it’s well worth it once you know what you can and cannot eat.
Another effective thing you can do is eat more fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. Swap out the sugary products and highly processed foods that are sure to trigger acid reflux with fruits like apples that’ll keep your gut in check.
To get rid of acid reflux you should also try taking digestive enzyme supplements. These supplements provide your body with beneficial enzymes it needs to prevent acid reflux and the symptoms associated with it such as bad breath.
The Conclusion
The important thing to remember here is to always pay attention to your body. If you feel you’ve tried everything you can think of to get rid of the foul odor in your mouth but it always seems to come back it may be time to monitor your body closely to see if something’s off.
Make sure you check with your doctor if you do feel something isn’t quite right so you can get a proper diagnosis. Once your suspicions have been confirmed attack the root cause head on and you’ll easily cure your chronic bad breath for good and begin enjoying fresh breath all day long.
