Hey there Team!
Last week we talked about how your health is connected to your stinky breath.

Quick recap from last week:
If we think about the mouth as a large entrance hallway, what other rooms lead to that same hallway? Well, OK we have the esophagus coming from the digestive system. Then we have the sinuses. (Anyone who has ever had to do a saltwater rinse for a sinus infection knows that all that yucky stuff ends up in the mouth). And last but not least, your lungs, via the trachea, also leads to that same hallway.

That means, that if there is any kind of imbalance, infection, or bad  bacterial overgrowth in any one of these areas, it can lead to a stinky, bad breath (aka halitosis). This is something that is  commonly known in Eastern Medicine[2], but not so often talked about in our Western type Medicine. So what can you do if you suffer from halitosis? Phoebe is definitely asking the right question!

"Smelly cat,
smelly cat,
what are they feeding you?"
-Phoebe, in Friends

If your bad breath is something that is occurring often, or all the time, I would look into your food choices. This is the easiest thing for us to change. And, I also believe that it has the biggest impact on our bodies as well. Your best bet is to stay away from processed foods and eat a well prepared whole foods diet.

Why not make a note of when you notice the stinky breath coming back or being particularly bad.  Ask yourself what kind of foods and drinks that you had a day or two before that. It’s sometimes very easy to notice a pattern occurring, if you just start to pay attention. For instance, if you have really bad morning breath, what did you eat and drink the night before?

If your digestion is a bit sluggish, it means that it takes too long for the food to be broken down. Also, eating a heavy meal late at night is not ideal, as your digestion slows down at night. As the food then hangs around in your intestines for too long, it starts to rot and bad bacteria has  a field day. Add a sugary dessert at the end of that heavy meal, and your bad bacteria are totally overjoyed! When bad bacteria is busy, they create a lot of stinky gas.

This is the gas that comes back to your mouth and makes your breath smell. It's like having an open garbage bin with rotten food in the other room. Even if you try to close the door, after a while it's going to stink.

The foods that takes the longest to break down is fat and protein, particularly if it's coming from an animal. Therefore it would be interesting to eliminate (or reduce as much as you can) these foods. A lot of people also do not do well with dairy, so that's another one to watch out for.

If you have noticed your breath being a challenge sometimes, why not take a week or three and eat lots of veggies and whole foods. Give your body a chance to clean out the gunk! Go easy on the fats, and meats as this is harder for the body to digest. Completely stay away from all fried foods, dairy and processed foods. A lot of people get surprised as how quickly their breath clean up when they do this.

After that make a note when you notice the bad breath coming back and what kind of foods that you ate a day or two before that. On the same smelly topic, if you, or someone near you is having to use a lot of deodorant to smell better, then this article "too dirty for a shower" might interest you as well.

Phoebe was asking the right question all along...
😉 Have a great weekend everyone!

https://youtu.be/92vTUFqy3gU

[2] https://bodahealth.ca/bad-breath-and-chinese-medicine/