You may find that you lose a lot of weight when you’re on a low carb diet but one of the side effects of this weight loss is bad breath. Many dentists are finding that they get a lot of complaints from their patients about bad breath. Patients think that it might be tooth decay that is causing them to have foul breath but, after a dental exam, dentists find that tooth decay isn’t an issue. This bad breath is actually called "ketone breath" and has a sweet sick smell to it. Ketone breath is the result of chemicals built in the body due to a low carb diet.
Low carb diets work when your body burns up stored fat as a fuel rather than using carbohydrates. When your body fat is burned up as fuel smelly ketones, or chemicals, are built up in the body. These ketone chemicals are then released in your urine and in your breath. Hence, bad breath is one of the biggest side effects of a low carb diet.
Many times bad breath will occur during the breakdown of certain food particles which have sulphur components. Bacteria found on the tongue and gums are another culprit. Foods that are high in protein will produce large amounts of sulphur compounds particularly at night when there is less saliva to wash away these components.
There a few things that you can do to battle "ketone breath" if you’re on a low carb diet:
• Make sure that you drink plenty of water so that you wash away the bacteria and germs in your mouth.
• Chew on fresh pieces of parsley
• Chew sugarless gum.
• Take the time to brush your teeth and tongue every time you eat.
• Take the time to floss after every meal.
• Try bleaching your teeth. Bleaching can help against bad breath because it acts as an oxygenating agent that kills germs and bacteria.
Bad breath can have a negative impact on almost anything that you do in your day from talking to co-workers to kissing your partner. When you’re trying to lose weight, the last thing that you want to do is focus on your breath when you want to start feeling better about yourself. The above tips can help you keep a lid on bad breath so that you can put your energies into your weight loss program.
If you find that your bad breath continues after you’ve finished your low carb diet, make sure that you see a doctor. Bad breath can be a sign of serious medical conditions such as diabetes.
