Natural health: putting an end to bad breath

Your queries about natural health answered by Jacquie Lane for the College of Naturopathic Medicine

Dear Jacquie,
Bad breath is making my life miserable. What can I do?

To start, it could be good to rule out a few things. Firstly, see your dentist in case it’s a structural issue, e.g. receding gums or deep gum pockets, for which they can offer proper cleaning and de-scaling etc. Secondly, consider a test for mouth candida. A mouth swab cultured in a laboratory can be organised for you by a nutritional therapist. Ensure you floss twice a day after brushing your teeth.

A few conditions may contribute to bad breath, such as a stomach bacteria called Helicobacter Pylori. Again, this can be tested for, this time from a simple stool sample. Some foods, such as the milk sugar called lactose, react in some people, causing an excess of hydrogen in the breath. Any foods that you may be intolerant to may cause a noticeable odour on the breath after eating. This may be a few hours later, so keeping a food diary would be useful for you.

If your situation isn’t caused by any of the above, you may want to adjust your diet by excluding the obvious culprits like garlic and onions, and including nature’s deodorisers like parsley and coriander as fresh herbs on foods.

If you have a blender, smoothies can be a great way to make a lovely cleansing drink. Try cucumber, parsley, spinach, coriander, coconut water and some frozen berries, which add a lovely icy texture. Or you could add avocado or banana.

If you have a juicer you could also juice an organic apple, kale, small bunch of parsley and coriander with an small ‘almond size’ piece of ginger and a couple of organic carrots.

A natural mouth wash you can make at home could be three drops of Tea Tree oil in half a glass of water, or you can buy some ready made organic versions. Aloe vera juice is also useful as a mouth wash. You could use both after flossing night and morning.

See your health professional for advice.

Free open evening
Wednesday 5th February, 6.30pm–8.30pm, Find out about training with CNM Brighton to become a nutritional therapist. To book your place call 01342 410 505.

Jacquie Lane is both a lecturer and the Director of Studies at CNM, (College of Naturopathic Medicine) in Brighton. Jacquie also runs her own nutrition clinic and manages a biological testing lab specialising in digestive issues. Email Jacquie at: sunshinenutrition@hotmail.co.uk