Has your best friend been offering you breath mints more than usual? Co-worker pushing gum on you? They might not just be trying to share. Between 46 million and 75 million Americans are plagued by chronic bad breath, and, the worst part? Some of them don’t even know it! If you’ve noticed a bad taste that won’t seem to go away or that people who care about you — or have to talk to you — have been offering friendly hints about your scent, there’s no need to stress out or run to your dentist to get a potentially chemical-laden prescription regiment for bad breath.
Often bad breath is caused by internal digestive problems. When your digestive system becomes imbalanced your digestive fire becomes weak and the food you eat is not digested properly, this becomes a breeding ground for toxins to form. These toxins get deposited in your mouth and digestive system. The toxins cause a stench to arise from your stomach and intestines out of your mouth. See the excellent book Ayurvedic Home Remedies for more information.
There are plenty of inexpensive, healthy remedies to alleviate bad breath:
Parsley
There’s a reason it’s always just lying there, fresh and green, on the edge of your plate. You’re supposed to chew it! Parsley contains chlorophyll, hence the green, which is a known bad-breath deodorizer. So, instead of just abandoning it on your plate, pick up that parsley and give it a couple of chews to cleanse your palate. You can also put a few handfuls in your juicer and take a couple of sips whenever you need to refresh your breath. Or, of course, carrying a few sprigs around in your pocket is an easy and efficient way to make sure your breath saver is always around.
Don’t want to tap into your 401k to keep yourself in parsley? Grow your own! Organic Parsley Seeds are readily available from Amazon and, this way, you can ensure that what you’re chewing hasn’t been doused with unhealthy pesticides.
Cardamom
Cardamom, which might be most notable these days for lending chai its distinctive flavor, is an age-old remedy to all sorts of health problems, including bad breath. The Egyptians chewed the herb to clean their teeth, and so can you. While you’re whisking away your bad breath, you’ll be happy to know that your also treating urinary problems and preventing colon cancer.
While cardamom is available in many forms, it stays freshest in the pod. So, purchase the pods from Mountain Rose Herbs or your local health food store and pop a seed out whenever your breath needs a little freshening.
Fenugreek Seed
This little herb is another super multi-tasker, so, while you’re drinking away your bad breath, you can also kiss indigestion, sluggish liver, anaemia, sore throat and diabetes goodbye. By washing away hardened mucus and other toxic substances that collect in the body, fenugreek tea, when drunk regularly, can help cure bad breath and body odor.
Fenugreed Seed Tea Bags make your daily dose of breath freshener easy to come by and can be purchased from Amazon.
Tongue Scraper
All sorts of bacteria, mucus and other bad breath paraphernalia can get trapped in the dark, deep recesses of the tongue. You can brush until you’re blue in the face, but if you aren’t reaching the very back of the tongue, where bad-breath bacteria fester, all that brushing isn’t going to do a thing to cure you’re bad breath. Fortunately, all sorts of tongue scrapers and cleaners are readily available and waiting to solve your problems. But you don’t just want any tongue scraper. If you’re going to shell out the cash, why not buy the best?
If you believe the trusty reviewers at Amazon, the very best comes in the form of Dr. Tung’s Stainless Steel Tongue Cleaner. They all agree that it nixed their bad breath in no time. For five bucks, it’s worth a shot.
Worst Remedies:
While we’ve been trying to educate you on the best, chemical-free ways to rid yourself of bad breath, the American Academy of Periodontology wants us to know about the least effective ways, as well. Here is a rundown of home remedies floating around on the internet, that this dental organization warns to stay away from: excessive use of mouthwash, breath mints, chewing gum, mint chew tobacco, infomercial items, vodka martinis or sour mash whiskey, brushing with household cleanser, rinsing with kerosene, tongue piercing.
Now that you know your options, we hope you find something perfect to keep your breath fresh and clean!
Thanks for this important info!
I wish you’d touched more on things that aid with digestion. Fennel, which is almost without fail found in Indian restaurants, is great for digestion. Mint (the reason for the after dinner mint) is also great for this (Mint comprises herbs such as Peppermint, Catnip, and Lemon Balm). And while you’re busy with these palliatives, you might consider helping out your liver with an infusion of Nettle, or your gallbladder with Chickweed.
As quick remedies go, lemon is a great way to get things moving in your mouth. Drinking a glass of hot lemonade in the Winter is also a good way to help out your mucous membranes.