To neutralize bad breath from your stomach (often linked to acid reflux or gut issues), focus on treating the root cause with lifestyle changes, like avoiding trigger foods (garlic, spicy dishes, caffeine, alcohol) and managing conditions like GERD, alongside boosting saliva with sugar-free gum/mints and practicing excellent oral hygiene (brushing, flossing, tongue scraping) to mask odors and remove bacteria. Staying hydrated, eating fiber, and potentially using probiotics can also help digestion and freshen breath.
How to Eliminate Bad Breath From the Stomach
Bad breath can happen during pregnancy, often due to hormonal changes that increase your risk for gum inflammation and bacteria growth. During pregnancy, especially with morning sickness, it can be hard to maintain your oral health routine. But maintaining good oral hygiene and regular dental visits are essential.
Munch on crispy fruits and veggies. Between meals, you can snack on carrots, celery sticks and apples to increase saliva flow and wash away bacteria. These snacks can also help alleviate bad breath caused by hunger or fasting. An empty stomach from skipping meals can cause foul breath as acids in your stomach build up.
To help improve your child's breath: Teach your child to gargle with water when your child is old enough. This is usually around 8 years of age. Help your child to brush their teeth, tongue, roof of the mouth, and gums at least twice a day.
Cinnamon. Chewing cinnamon sticks is a very old remedy for bad breath. The spice contains an essential oil known for killing smelly bacteria! Instead of gnawing on a hard cinnamon stick, you can chew cinnamon gum or swish with a blend of cinnamon powder and warm water.
Fennel seeds are chewed by the people of India to deal with bad breath. It is considered beneficial for teeth and is known to clean teeth7. You can chew some fennel seeds. Also, you can gargle with warm fennel water.
Water will naturally wash away food particles, bacteria, and other odour-causing cells. Since bacteria survive off the leftover food in your mouth— simply rinsing after a meal will aid in fighting bad breath. Try drinking around two litres of water each day.
Notably, levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone will rise, making your gums more susceptible to inflammation and infection from bacterial plaque. This can result in increased risk of gum disease, which is a common cause of bad breath.
Pop a Sugar-Free Mint
Sugar-free mints can be used to freshen your breath before important business meetings. They might not work as a bad breath cure, but they will mask the odour and make your breath temporarily minty fresh. Plus, since mints are compact, they're easy to fit in your pocket.
To fix this, squeeze some lemon juice into some tap water and drink it first thing in the morning. It won't be as acidic but it'll stimulate saliva production and destroy the bacteria that are causing your breath to smell.
Vitamins and Supplements to Combat Bad Breath
Some vitamins, such as vitamin C and B complex, help fight infection and keep your gums healthy. Others, like zinc and copper, have antibacterial properties that can help control the growth of odor-causing bacteria.
Which deficiency causes mouth smell? A deficiency in zinc can lead to bad breath. Zinc helps maintain a healthy mouth and prevents bacterial buildup. Low levels of vitamin B and vitamin C can also contribute to bad breath by affecting oral health.
Emerging research has shown that 85% of people who took oral probiotics for one week experienced a significant reduction in the compounds that cause bad breath.
Breath that smells sulfuric, resembling the smell of rotten eggs, may indicate a problem with the digestive tracts. When healthy gut microbes break down sulfur, this releases sulfur-smelling gas.
Chewing on cinnamon sticks is one of the oldest home remedies for bad breath. Cinnamon's spice is nice for bad breath because it contains an essential oil that kills the bacteria in your mouth, which is what causes bad breath. Plus, cinnamon leaves a lovely scent that covers up bad breath immediately.
Oranges or Lemons
If you're out to eat, grab a lemon wedge to chew on, or stash an orange in your bag or at the office as an emergency breath-saving snack. The vitamin C and increased saliva production from the citrus will help improve breath immediately.