The Bad Breath Blog

When you think of an addiction, you’re probably thinking of a life-ruining substance, but research shows that sugar addiction may cause the body to respond in the same ways it would when introduced a habit-forming drug. Maybe that’s why you can’t end a meal without a sweet treat or you routinely toss five sugar packets in your coffee each morning. Whatever your bad sugar habit may be, it can be a leading cause of bad breath.

Sugar and your oral health
Sugar is the mouth’s worst enemy. It acts as food for the anaerobic bacteria that live in the mouth and produce foul odors. Sugars are a form of fermentable carbohydrate, which are introduced to the digestion process in the oral cavity. This process creates acid and a lower pH in the mouth and works against the teeth’s enamel. What this means is that your sugar addiction may be causing halitosis and tooth decay. These issues will be more severe if you do not keep up brushing, flossing and rinsing.

Steps to minimizing your addiction to sugar
Sugar is one of the top bad breath foods, and it may be in a lot more things than you think. Instead of putting yourself in a situation where you have to give up all of your sugar habits, take it one step at a time. Following any sugary treat, make sure to drink water to help wash down any remnants left in the mouth that will cause halitosis or tooth decay.

Coffee
Whether you load your morning cup of Joe up with several packets of sugar or you regularly visit the local cafe to pick up a vanilla latte, this sugar intake can be deceiving. Since coffee is naturally bitter, you may not consider this a major part of your problem – but it is. Slowly train your palate to enjoy less sugar or densely sweetened creamer. After some time, you’ll actually start to enjoy the natural taste of coffee. If you still need a little something to perk up your coffee, try it with unsweetened vanilla almond milk. The vanilla taste may be enough to satisfy your craving.

Snack swap
Pay attention to the nutritional value of the snacks you typically consume. You may find that the yogurt you’re eating is advertised as a healthy snack, but it actually has loads of sugar – this may be why you’re so dependent on it. Take some time to look at the sugar content in other similar products and swap them out for something healthier. Better yet, munch on strawberries, an apple or grapes – these naturally sweet snacks are great for your overall and oral health.

The same goes with soda. Swap out your afternoon can of cola for an ice tea sweetened with honey or agave nectar.

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Whether you give into greasy French fries, cheesy pizza or crunchy chips, you’re probably aware that it’s not super simple to look the other way when it comes to junk food. In a 2010 study conducted by Scripps Research Associate Professor Paul J. Kenny and graduate student Paul M. Johnson, published in the March 2010 online edition of Nature Neuroscience, the duo found that the same molecular mechanisms prone to drive people to drug addictions play a similar role in overeating. Similarly, many believe that junk food has addictive properties.

We all know that fast food wreaks havoc on the body, but fewer people are aware of the side effects it has on our oral health. Bad breath, canker sores and gum disease can all arise over time in individuals who find themselves constantly consuming junk food. Since most junk and fast food lack the proper vitamins and minerals the mouth and body need to stay functioning properly, bacteria and germs are able to prosper and cause issues.

Bad breath symptoms are the most common side effect of junk food consumption – these foods are often hard to digest and cause a buildup of gas. This gas is released through the mouth, causing a pungent smell that can only be masked by gum and mints. Similarly, oral health issues such as canker sores are caused by a diet that is lacking vitamin B-12, zinc, folic acid and iron. If you are consuming a large amount of junk and fast food, your body isn’t receiving enough of these vitamins to stay healthy.

But it may be difficult to just give up junk food all together, even if you’re aware of the health concerns it causes. Scripps Research performed a study on rats that completely lost control over eating habits overtime.

“They always went for the worst types of food, and as a result, they took in twice the calories as the control rats,” Kenny said. “When we removed the junk food and tried to put them on a nutritious diet – what we called the ‘salad bar option’ – they simply refused to eat. The change in their diet preference was so great that they basically starved themselves for two weeks after they were cut off from junk food.”

While it’s not necessary to give up all junk food, it is important to maintain a balanced diet with fruits and vegetables that contain vitamins for a healthy mouth and body.

We all know that soda causes an abundance of health issues like heart disease, bad breath, cavities and a raised risk of cancer, but many Americans continue to consume these beverages on a regular basis. When New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed a ban on the sale of sodas larger than 16 ounces at New York City restaurants, gas stations, movie theaters and other establishments, he quickly made headlines. The ban, which was originally set to go in effect in March 2013, was shut down by New York Supreme Court Judge Milton Tingling one day prior to its implementation. Research published in the journal PLOS ONE found that limiting the intake of sugary beverages may have unintended consequences.

The soda study
Conducted at the University of California, San Diego, a research team found that people who were offered both a large sized beverage and two smaller beverages in a bundle were more likely to choose the bundles. These results show that a ban on large beverages would likely not decrease the amount of soda bought in stores and restaurants.

Participants of the study had several different menu choices, including an unregulated menu with a 16, 24 and 32-ounce soda, and then the bundle menu presented a 16-ounce, two 12, and two 16-ounce sodas. The no bundle menu presented only a 16-ounce soda. It was found that people bought significantly more ounces of soda from the bundle menu than the unregulated menu.

If businesses are able to sell large amounts of sugary beverages in smaller containers, it’s likely that consumers will continue to purchase the big sizes. However, since participants were aware that they were taking part in the study, some researchers believe the results could be skewed.

“Most people getting ready to buy soda will go for the regular size,” David Just, a professor of behavioral economics at Cornell University, told the Los Angeles Times. Just further explained that other individuals are “going to display what we call reactance – a rebelliousness, a determination to circumvent this policy, an attitude of ‘I’ll show them.’ And the people selling the soda are all too willing to comply.”

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The British Journal of Cancer published research conducted by Israeli and Chinese students that found a bad breath detector has a 90 percent accuracy rate in distinguishing stomach cancer with other common stomach issues in 130 patients. This new breath test is very promising because stomach cancer is difficult to detect, and oftentimes it is too late to control the cancer when doctors determine that a patient is suffering from it. According to the American Cancer Society, the five-year survival rate of stomach cancer is only about 38 percent because of this.

This detector tests bad breath caused by cancerous growths that release volatile organic compounds. It uses a nanomaterial sensor that analyzes the chemicals that are released through the mouth to determine if the bad breath is a sign of the development of stomach cancer. This new method would be much less invasive and simpler than an endoscopy, which is the current and most common method to detect stomach cancer. An endoscopy requires a long, flexible tube with a small camera to be extended down the throat and into the digestive system. But the new detector could be used during a routine checkup by any general practitioner.

“The promising findings from this early study suggest that using a breath test to diagnose stomach cancers, as well as more benign complaints, could be a future alternative to endoscopies - which can be costly and time-consuming, as well as unpleasant to the patient,” Dr. Hossam Haick of Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, and the leader of the team that developed the bad breath detector said.

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