While some foods, like onions, garlic, and fish, cause bad mouth odour, others prevent it.
What you eat can be the determining factor between good and bad breath. Here are foods and fruits you should eat if you want your breath to smell nice:
1. Fruits and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are high in fibre and water, which promote saliva production. Apples, pears, carrots, celery, and leafy greens are among the best fruits and vegetables. Saliva sweeps away food particles and bacteria from the mouth, lowering the likelihood of bad breath.
2. Yoghurt
Yoghurt, particularly yoghurt with living and active cultures (probiotics), might help decrease the formation of harmful germs in your mouth. For the best results, choose plain yoghurt with no added sugar.
The International and American Associations for Dental Research found that consuming three ounces of yoghurt every day for six weeks reduced hydrogen sulphide by 80%.
3. Green tea
Green tea contains polyphenols which reducing sulphur compounds that contributes to bad breath. Drink green tea between meals to freshen your breath and improve digestion. Be careful with black tea though as drinking too much black tea can cause a dry mouth, which exacerbates odours.
4. Spices and herbs
Before chewing gum, people used natural herbs and spices to mask bad breath. Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, created a mouth rinse using wine and herbs. Herbs like parsley, spearmint, and rosemary can help, while spices like parsley, fennel seeds, and cloves can freshen breath. These can be chewed raw, added to food, or gargled.
5. Water
Because germs grow on leftover food in your mouth, merely rinsing after a meal can help battle bad breath. Drink about two litres of water every day.
To keep your breath fresh, make sure you are properly hydrated. Water will naturally remove food particles, germs, and other odour-causing particles.
If you constantly eat and drink these above listed items, your breath will smell better.