Can Apple Cider Vinegar Treat Bad Breath?

Bad breath can cause many problems more than you can ever imagine. This problem is a common one which may stem from a lot of causes. But whatever the cause is, the truth is still the same: bad breath can embarrass you, can cause anxiety and frustration for you and can humiliate you in front of other people. Some potential causes of halitosis can include health conditions and diseases of the oral cavity. Foods can also cause halitosis such as those containing garlic and onions. Treatment of bad breath is usually dependent on its cause. There are many products available nowadays that claim to help with bad breath such as toothpastes, mouthwashes, flosses and regular dental care.

The Wonders of Apple Cider Vinegar

One of the ancient remedies for bad breath is apple cider vinegar. This is a folk remedy that has been around for quite sometime now and goes way back to 3000 BC. This vinegar has been used to treat a number of health conditions such as weight gain, diabetes, high cholesterol and constipation. Though all these healing effects can be confirmed, these have not been truly evaluated by doctors.

Apple cider vinegar is created by crushing fresh apples, removing the juice into barrels and making them stay there to be fermented by bacteria and yeast. Bacteria in acetic acid are placed to the liquid so that alcohol can be converted into vinegar. This rich, brownish fluid has a sharp pungent odor. Nutrients are still present in apple cider vinegar after all these natural processes.

Apple cider has many benefits such as the control of elevated glucose levels, lowering of abnormal cholesterol levels, the reduction of body fat and excess weight, and others. It can also be used to treat diarrhea and constipation.  It may also be used to treat acne and body odor. Recently, apple cider vinegar has been used to bad breath.

So, how do you use apple cider vinegar to treat bad breath? Here is how you do it. First, take one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar before you eat. You may also dissolve apple cider vinegar in a glass of water. In this way, apple cider vinegar can help with the body’s digestion after a meal and can treat bad breath.

After each meal, you can also take one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. If you cannot stand the sour taste, you can mix just one tablespoon of this vinegar with a glass of water containing 8 oz. You can also opt to add apple cider vinegar to the food that you eat. This can actually help you with your digestion. People who have bad breath often lack the enzymes and stomach acids that are able to digest food. Thus, apple cider vinegar can actually act as a stomach acid that can break down food and get rid of your bad breath.

Apple cider vinegar can also be used as a mouthwash. To use it as a gargle, add half a tablespoon to a cup of cold water. You can gargle this solution for about ten seconds and use this as a mouthwash so that you can get rid of bad breath.

Can Vitamin Deficiency Cause Body Odor?

All of us had body odor at some point in our lives. Body odor can make you lose self-confidence, can limit your social interactions and can cause you embarrassment and humiliation. But why does body odor occur? This unpleasant smell can actually be due to the acidic compounds given off by bacteria when they come in contact and react with sweat that forms in the skin. The smell comes from acids which are a result of proteins being broken down by bacteria in the skin.

Body odor usually presents itself when there are things that are not dealt with when a person reaches puberty. Those who are prone to develop body odors are those who are obese, those with medical conditions such as diabetes and those who are fond of eating spicy food. Those who sweat too much, a condition known as hyperhidrosis, are also susceptible to develop body odors.

There are two types of acids that are present in body odor. Propionic acid is the type that is common in sweat and is produced by propionibacteria which break amino acids into propionic acids. Propionic acid has a vinegar-like smell because it is very similar to acetic acid, the component of vinegar that gives its strong smell and sour taste. The other acid is isovaleric acid which is a result of the actions of Staphylococcus epidermidis on the surface of the skin. The odor is similar to cheese.

Body odor usually develops because there are around three to four millions of sweat glands in the body. These sweat glands bring about sweat which is then acted upon by bacteria to give out a foul-smelling body odor. Sweat glands are located on all areas of the skin as well as on the armpits. They may also be located in the ear, the genitals, the eyelids and breasts. In the breast, these sweat gland secrete droplets of fat on to the breast milk. They help form earwax in the ear. The type of sweat glands that is causing body odor is the apocrine gland. The apocrine gland is abundant in the armpits, groin and on the nipples. These scent glands secrete pheromones, aromatic substances that make a person sexually attractive to another person. Apocrine glands are mainly responsible for producing body odor because the sweat that they produce is high in protein which is easily broken down by bacteria.

Body Odor and Nutrient Deficiencies

If you think that body odor is about poor hygiene, it is not. It can be due to nutrient deficiencies. Not getting vitamins enough can cause people give out body odor. These various vitamin and mineral deficiencies may be in the form of vitamin B 12, magnesium or zinc.

Zinc is important in the body because it helps break down carbohydrates into energy and helps cleanse the body against toxins and waste products. If you have zinc deficiency, your body cannot detoxify properly and may bring about body odor. You can get zinc from pork, chicken, oysters, beef, grains, legumes and nuts.

Magnesium can affect your intestinal flora and its deficiency can cause body odor. If you consume foods rich in magnesium, it will help the body deodorize more effectively. magnesium can be found in foods such as nuts, dark chocolate and bran.

Vitamin B2 or riboflavin deficiency can bring about a fishy odor in the body, a condition known as trimethylaminuria. This vitamin can help enhance enzyme activity in patients with this disorder. Vitamin B can be found in cruciferous vegetables and seafood.

Cinnamon as a Cure for Bad Breath

Bad breath is a common problem encountered by many around the globe. It is caused by bacteria which thrives in the oral cavity by consuming leftover food particles and it can become a real problem, especially if you have an office meeting but you ran out of mints. Bad breath or halitosis needs to be understood and fought with conventional ways, as well as traditional ways. Dental care products aren’t always effective and sometimes their overuse will actually do more harm than good. This is when common herbs and spices, like cinnamon can come in handy by effectively destroying bacteria without causing any kind of side effects whatsoever.

Cause of Bad Breath

Bad breath is caused by replicating bacteria that emits foul smelling gases when consuming the nutrients found in food particles that are stuck in our teeth or on our tongues after meals or a snack. Diet and lifestyle will also have a serious impact on the amount of bacteria and the intensity of the odor. For example, those are not properly hydrated will have a worse breath than those who are. Bad hydration will lead to a reduced amount of saliva that is present in the mouth and a dry mouth will smell foul as there is nothing to trap the gas emanated by the bacteria. Our saliva plays a crucial role in capturing the foul smells and in washing down some of the bacteria.

Diet is another common problem due to many types of foods or beverages that will lead to a bad breath after being consumed. Onions and garlic are the most well known products that lead to a foul smell, at least temporarily. Same with alcohol as it dries and dehydrates the mouth, thus reducing content of saliva and allowing the bacteria’s gases to escape.

Dental Hygiene with Cinnamon

While conventional products like toothpaste and mouth wash are vital, they are not always foolproof and can’t be used excessively. This when natural spices and other products that are common in the kitchen, can come handy and eliminate the bacteria and the foul odor. Cinnamon is already well known due to researchers that have proven it to be an effective bacteria killer. This spice will cleanse the mouth from bacteria and take care of the root of the problem, especially when combined with other products with similar properties.

For instanced, cinnamon can be best combined with honey and lemon juice to create a natural mouth wash that will eliminate the bacteria and freshen the smell immediately. Honey, like cinnamon, has anti bacterial properties that allows it to destroy these microscopic creatures that cause a bad breath. Lemon can be added as this citrus fruit will significantly improve and freshen the odor, thus eliminating any foul smell.

Making a natural mouth wash based on cinnamon is risk free and easy as it is a highly common and inexpensive ingredient. It can be applied regularly and the user can be certain that the population of bacteria will be controlled.

Five Vitamins That May Help Treat Bad Breath

Having bad breath is an embarrassing experience. It can affect the way you do things, the way you interact with others and the way you handle relationships. With untreated bad breath you may appear as withdrawn, yet in fact, you just want to close your mouth so that you wouldn’t give out that nasty smell.

Bad breath is caused by a number of factors. One is consuming the wrong kind of foods such as garlic and onions. Another is poor hygiene, when you do not brush at least twice a day or you forget to floss regularly. Bad breath is often caused by leftover food inside the mouth which in turn attracts bacteria. These bacteria feast on leftover food in your mouth and cause their decay. When bacteria act on proteins inside the mouth, they bring about foul smell which brings about bad breath.

There are a lot of temporary fixes in the market today such as breath mints, sprays, lozenges, gums, drops and mouthwashes. However, these products only have temporary effects and cannot stop bad breath in the long run. What you really need is a true fix that eliminates bad breath permanently. One of the ways by which you can get rid of bad breath is by changing your eating habits. You must consume food that contains essential vitamins that are needed in preventing bad breath.

So what vitamins do we need to take for us to eliminate bad breath from our lives forever? Here are the top five vitamins that you should consider:

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is an anti-inflammatory and an anti-oxidant vitamin that can help treat bad breath. This vitamin is often found from fruits and vegetables. A lack of vitamin C can actually cause gum disease which is known as scurvy. Vitamin C maintains the integrity and function of the oral cavity; gum disease can be a breeding ground for bacteria which may then cause bad breath.

Zinc

Zinc is another vitamin that has activity against bacteria in the mouth. It binds to the protein receptors of the oral cavity which are also the receptors to which bacteria may also bind to. Zinc boosts immunity and helps fight against infections of the oral cavity and can thus prevent bad breath.

Vitamin B

Vitamin B is a vitamin that helps in creating energy from food. When there is lack of vitamin B, the body lacks the energy to produce enzymes that digest food well, further causing bad breath. This bad breath is due to the accumulation of toxins in the blood that are caused by a low energy state of the body’s processes.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is an antioxidant that helps fight aging by combating free radicals in the body. By doing this, Vitamin E rids the blood of toxins and other waste materials so that the immune system can fight infections well, especially within the oral cavity.

Calcium

Calcium can strengthen bones and teeth. When your diet contains enough calcium, there is some degree of protection from tooth decay which in turn can cause bad breath.

New Ways to Combat Body Odor

Foul odor coming from sweat is a common issue encountered by many and it takes great care to try and prevent the smell from being noticed. The problem, however, isn’t just sweat itself. The odor is caused by bacteria, namely staphylococcus homini, that feeds on nutrients eliminated through the sweat and during this process an unpleasant smell is released. The common methods of combating the smell, such as frequent showers, changing clothes often, altering diet can be quite troublesome and even time consuming, thus researchers have begun seeking new methods of eliminating the bad odor.

Understanding Unpleasant Body Odor

Scientists determined that only a small number of bacteria reacts in a certain way with the sweat. Few types of bacteria found in area around the armpit will cause the foul smell but it has been determined that it takes a very small number of the microscopic creatures to cause the odor to be more than noticeable and difficult to get rid of. Most of the bacteria does not release any kind of unpleasant smell went consuming nutrients from the human sweat and multiplying and the researchers are still far from understanding why only a few types of bacteria will react in such a way.

The scientists behind the study found out how the free thioalcohols are produced. This compound is produced by certain bacteria when consuming the sweat and it is the main reason why people can emit a bad odor. This can be observed in clothing that was used when exercising and sweating heavily as the fabric will become far more smelly after one or two days.

Currently, a proper hygiene is the only way of combating the bacteria, as well as the use of various deodorants and antiperspirants but these are only temporary methods that are not full proof against the odor. The reason why these products are not entirely effective is that they either try to mask the odor, reduce perspiration and therefore the bacteria’s food supply, or combat and kill a number of bacteria. Such a product would be far more useful and effective if it would target specifically the production of thioalcohols, but researchers are still a few steps away from fully understanding the phenomena and coming up with ways of stopping it. Even if they would come up with a working solution it would still take far more research in order to make certain the product is safe to use on human skin without causing any kind of unpleasant side effects.

Conclusion

Until scientists find out more about thioalcohol’s production and ways of creating an effective product against it, people will need to look after their personal hygiene and use the current products against sweat and bacteria. Progress may be slow, but advances in  understanding the sources of bad odor are being made and new products will soon be developed to make life easier for many people and for those around them.