When your tooth and gums give you trouble, naturally you tend to flounder, searching for a quick fix! Halitosis (bad breath) notwithstanding, just imagine what kind of life those people lead who also suffer from gingivitis, accumulation of plaque, gum diseases, etc., in addition to bad breath! You’d think their life is pretty much like hell, and you are not far from the truth! In this article of course I am going to stick to halitosis (bad breath) only!
If you are concerned about your bad breath, you have no doubt used a variety of tongue cleaners, scrapers, mouthwashes, toothpastes, and what not! Perhaps you have tried mint too – probably you even believe that you need mint more than your next-door neighbor who is suffering from asthma. But in the end, the bad breath either refuses to go away, or relieves you only temporarily, coming back to haunt you a few moments later. Although you won’t realize it until someone very close to you gives you a dirty look, as if saying, ‘Gee! You smell!’ All said and done, is there really any home remedy for bad breath? Yes, there IS! In this article, I will tell you not about one but twenty ‘kitchen remedies’ for bad breath!
Water: If you cannot do anything else, at least rinse your mouth thoroughly and often with plain water – especially early in the morning and before going to bed. Bad breath bacteria can inhabit a dry mouth more easily than a wet mouth; so make sure that you never let your mouth go dry! I would also suggest that you drink at least eight glasses of water every day to maintain that freshness in your breath.
Salt: Salt and water is the mixture you gargle so as to get rid of sore throat. But did you know that doing the same can also make your break fresher? Rinse your mouth twice daily with this solution and see how your stinking breath vanishes into thin air!
Neem: Forget about the regular toothpaste you bought yesterday. Toothpastes can hardly offer you any real help with bad breath. Instead, you need something that is more natural, something like neem. Neem offers an all-in-one solution for bad breath – while you can use its seeds to make fragrant oil in order to help maintain a fresh breath for a long time, its trunk is helpful in making your gums stronger!
Mint: You probably already know that mint is a great breath freshener (by the way, it also aids in the digestion process). In case you cannot get your hands on mint, here are a few other alternatives you can try out: rosemary, thyme, anise, parsley (there, just in case you were wondering why your favorite restaurant tops your food with a few parsley leaves!), spearmint, basil and wintergreen. Parsley helps you get rid of bad breath by counteracting your mouth odor!
Camphor: If you catch a cold, or suffer from ailments like tonsillitis, sinusitis, etc., then too you can suffer from bad breath problems. You think that there is no home remedy for this? Well, you could not be further from the truth! Camphor (the edible version) comes here to your rescue. Camphor decongests your nose by melting away the mucus that is clogging your nasal cavity and throat. Consequently you not only feel relieved of the nasal congestion but also of bad breath! Talk about killing two birds with one stone!
Aloe Vera: Aloe Vera is a great potent tonic for bad breath cure. All you need to do is to mix it with cold water and honey and voila, you’ve got a home remedy for halitosis!
Carrots: Carrots are good not just for your digestion but also for halitosis. Both carrots and celery help you by ridding your mouth of the plaque buildup that is responsible for your bad breath.
Baking Soda: Acidity in your mouth is what makes it easy for the halitosis-bacteria to grow inside, making your breath stink! There is an easy way out of this problem, though. Use baking soda to mitigate the level of acidity in your mouth and this would automatically also kill all the bad breath causing bacteria! Brushing with baking soda regularly can also remove the plaque buildup inside your mouth. An alternative for baking soda is hydrogen peroxide.
Cardamom and Cloves: Both cardamom and cloves are widely used as condiment but not everyone knows that they are as good a mouth freshener as say, mint or peppermint. Chew on them and say goodbye to bad breath forever!
Other than chewing them as-is, you can use cloves in making aromatic tea as well! These serves two purposes: not only your tea tastes much better, your bad breath leaves you too.
You can also use cloves to make your organic mouthwash! To make the mouthwash, you need to grind about a quarter of a teaspoon of cloves, or more specifically, three or four whole cloves. Then you have to boil them in hot water for say, about twenty minutes. During this period you need to stir the mixture often. Then you pour the liquid in a cup using a good strainer! Gargle it just like a mouthwash at least twice daily!
Cinnamon: Like cardamom and cloves, cinnamon is another spice that doubles up as a breath freshener. Believe it or not, merely sucking on a few cinnamon barks can offer you a much fresher breath for a long time than any of those expensive mouthwashes ever could! Combining cinnamon with tree tea oil and baking soda can make for excellent organic toothpaste.
Coriander: You probably use coriander leaves all the time for the purpose of cooking. But did you know that they are also a great ‘kitchen remedy’ for bad breath? And the method to use them is not complicated either! Simply boil a few coriander leaves in a pot and then use the liquid to wash your mouth. Believe me, this mouthwash is far better and offers a more long-lasting effect compared to all the chemical mouthwashes you might have purchased!
Fennel: Fennel is a great home remedy for halitosis. This herb contains an aromatic flavor and chewing on its leaves will ensure that you can maintain a fresh breath for a long time. Yet another way you can use fennel is to break open the fennel seed, and mix the contents found inside those seeds with baking soda. Create a paste out of this mixture, and then you can either rub this paste on your gums and teeth or use a toothbrush for the purpose!
Fenugreek: Fenugreek seeds are widely used for cooking purposes. They may be bitter in taste but believe me, when it comes to bad breath treatment, they are one of the best! Simply chew on a few of fenugreek seeds whenever you can.
Hazelnuts: Did you know that hazelnuts (filberts) are one of the top home remedies available for bad breath? Well now you do, right? Chew a couple of these regularly and you will notice how easily they absorb your bad breath!
Lemon: If your bad breath is caused by either onion or garlic then some of the home remedies listed above may not work well for you. In that case you can cut a lemon into four wedges, add a pinch of salt to each of these wedges and suck them dry so as to get rid of your bad breath fast!
Myrrh: Don’t want to wake up with bad breath in morning? Well, simply put a tiny piece of myrrh into your mouth before going to bed! If you can get myrrh oil, then add a couple of drops of this oil with water and gargle with the solution. Also myrrh extract, when mixed with the extracts of sage and calendula, make an excellent mouthwash!
Apple Cider Vinegar: You might think that I am kidding on this because, is not this apple cider vinegar itself a stinky solution? But don’t be fooled by its foul smell, because it is an excellent remedy for halitosis! Don’t believe me? Add a little bit of apple cider vinegar with water and drink it regularly, then see if the bad breath still persists or not!
Apple: An apple a day not only keeps the doctor but also bad breath away from you! Apples are great at preventing bad breath bacteria from taking shelter inside your mouth, so that your breath always feels fresh!
Green tea: Green tea is good not just for boosting your metabolism and helping you with weight loss; it is equally helpful for treating halitosis. Don’t forget to drink it warm and remember not to add sugar or any other kind of sweetener to your tea!
Sunflower seeds: A little known remedy for halitosis is the sunflower seeds easily available in yours or your neighbor’s backward. Once your finish your meal, you should chew on a few of these seeds to get rid of bad breath resulting from food consumption.
Tips To Prevent The Recurrence Of Bad Breath:
As they say, prevention is better than cure. So I have also listed some of the ways to prevent your breath from being smelly again:
Rinse your mouth well: This is a common advice that a lot of people tend to ignore: no matter what kind of food you eat, you should rinse your mouth thoroughly after it, followed by brushing your teeth and cleaning your tongue! If you don’t let food hide in your mouth then bad breath bacteria simply won’t have any scope to grow in your mouth.
Cut down on smoking, coffee etc.: Even in spite of following the above tips – no matter how religiously you do it – the results won’t last for a long time if you don’t give up some of your bad habits. For example, things like smoking or drinking coffee regularly can worsen your already poor breath; so can alcohol, especially strong drinks such as whiskey or wine – they mess up not just your digestive system but also your breath! If at all you have to smoke or drink, reduce the frequency of such activities and be sure to chew something like mint or parsley soon after!
Cut down on dairy products’ consumption: Dairy products such as milk, cheese, butter, etc., can worsen your bad breath situation. As such it is advisable that you try to minimize their consumption while at the same time increasing the intake of vegetables and fruits. Speaking of cheese, you should absolutely AVOID the strong ones such as Camembert, blue cheese, Roquefort, etc.
Increase the intake of zinc-rich foods: Foods that are rich in zinc are great at treating bad breath. Examples of such fruits and vegetables include spinach, pumpkin, cashew nuts, beans, mushrooms and wheat germ.
Things That Can WORSEN Your Bad Breath: You would be surprised to learn that some of the common stuff you thought would help make your breath better only makes it worse in reality. Such as mouthwashes whose overuse can make the mouth dry and stinky; or for that matter, chewing gyms or breath mints, which merely hide the smell of your rotten breath and don’t actually relive you of it!
While I feel that these tips would be adequate for bad breadth cure, there are far more home remedies for bad breath available than could possibly be listed here. For more information, [adrotate banner=”5″].