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DR. WEIL: How to fight bad breath naturally

By Dr. Andrew Weil

Published June 23, 2008 at 6 p.m.
Updated June 24, 2008 at 1:13 a.m.

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Can you suggest any natural remedies for bad breath?

The usual cause of bad breath is bacteria growing on food that accumulates between the teeth, on the tongue and around the gums. The obvious solution is brushing your teeth twice a day, flossing daily and brushing your tongue as well as your teeth. You can do this with a toothbrush or a gum scraper, a special metal or plastic instrument you use once or twice a day.

I don't put much faith in mouthwashes like Listerine or Scope to eliminate bad breath. While they may help, they often don't penetrate into the crevices of the tongue. That's why I prefer brushing or scraping the tongue directly. It may be uncomfortable at first, but you'll quickly get used to it.

Switching toothpastes might also help to resolve a bad-breath problem. Try one containing chlorine dioxide or look in your local health-food or herb store for products containing tea-tree oil, a powerful disinfectant that smells a bit like eucalyptus.

To deal with temporary bad breath stemming from eating garlic, onions or other pungent foods, try chewing a bit of parsley or some fennel seeds. Brushing, flossing and mouthwashes don't eliminate this kind of odor but can mask it until your body eliminates the food that's responsible.

Avoid regular use of breath- freshening mints containing the artificial sweetener aspartame, which tastes peculiar and has been linked with headaches in some people.

Persistent bad breath (or a bad taste in the mouth) can be a warning sign of gum disease. Here the bacteria that make up plaque create toxins that irritate the gums, which become inflamed and may bleed. If you have regular dental checkups, your dentist should spot early signs of this problem and recommend treatment (often by a periodontist).

Another potential cause of bad breath is dry mouth due to insufficient secretion of saliva as a re- sult of salivary-gland problems, breathing through the mouth or taking medications that make the mouth dry.

These include decongestants, diuretics and other blood-pressure medications, antidepressants, antihistamines, muscle relaxants, drugs for urinary incontinence and drugs used to treat Parkinson's disease. If you take any such drugs regularly, ask your doctor or pharmacist to suggest an alternative.

drweil.com

Comments

  • June 24, 2008

    8:47 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    rmforall writes:

    formaldehyde and formic acid in FEMA trailers and other sources (aspartame,
    dark wines and liquors, tobacco smoke): Murray 2008.01.30
    http://rmforall.blogspot.com/2008_01_...
    Wednesday, January 30, 2008
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/asparta...

    The FEMA trailers give about the same amount of formaldehyde and formic acid
    daily as from a quart of dark wine or liquor, or two quarts (6 12-oz cans)
    of aspartame diet soda, from their over 1 tenth gram methanol impurity (one
    part in 10,000), which the body quickly makes into formaldehyde and then
    formic acid -- enough to be the major cause of "morning after" alcohol
    hangovers.

    Methanol and formaldehyde and formic acid also result from many fruits and
    vegetables, tobacco and wood smoke, heater and vehicle exhaust, household
    chemicals and cleaners, cosmetics, and new cars, drapes, carpets, furniture,
    particleboard, mobile homes, buildings, leather... so all these sources add
    up and interact with many other toxic chemicals.

    methanol impurity in alcohol drinks [ and aspartame ] is turned into
    neurotoxic formic acid, prevented by folic acid, re Fetal Alcohol Syndrome,
    BM Kapur, DC Lehotay, PL Carlen at U. Toronto, Alc Clin Exp Res 2007 Dec.
    plain text: detailed biochemistry, CL Nie et al. 2007.07.18: Murray
    2008.02.24
    http://rmforall.blogspot.com/2008_02_...
    Sunday, February 24, 2008
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/asparta...

    "Of course, everyone chooses, as a natural priority, to enjoy peace, joy,
    and love by helping to find, quickly share, and positively act upon evidence
    about healthy and safe food, drink, and environment."

    Rich Murray, MA Room For All rmforall@comcast.net
    505-501-2298 1943 Otowi Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505

    http://RMForAll.blogspot.com new primary archive

    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/asparta...
    group with 125 members, 1,541 posts in a public archive

    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/asparta...
    group with 1,109 members, 22,714 posts in public archive