Acid Reflux and
Bad Breath
By Kathryn Whittaker
Say you are at a party and all of a sudden you get that
stinging feeling in your throat. You scrunch up your face, look
around the room and walk to a place where nobody can see you as
you try to swallow away that biting liquid. Your loosen your
collar, swallow some more of your wine, and try to get back
into the conversation. Yet, when you do get a circle and join
in the conversation, people start to back away from you,
pretend to scratch their nose, and claim to be needed
elsewhere. You can’t help but wonder if your recent bout of
heartburn is related to your recent unpopularity?
One way that you can check if you have bad breath (if your best
friend isn’t at the ready), is to lick the inside of your wrist
and let it dry for a few seconds and then smell it. If there is
an odor, then your breath isn’t as fresh as it should be.
If you are experiencing bad breath, or halitosis, then part of
your problem might be either related to, or a direct result of
acid reflux/GERD.
Most experts, medical and naturopathic alike will tell you that
bad breath is caused by what you eat, lack of saliva swishing
around in your mouth, stress, dehydration, and stomach
activity, i.e. acid indigestion. Since many people experience
acid reflux in their sleep, chances are good that morning
breath isn’t just a lack of saliva activity, but is related to
GERD.
Most commentators speaking on bad breath list acid reflux as a
major cause, in addition to the items mentioned above. It makes
sense really. It stands to reason that acidic liquid rising up
from your stomach is not going to smell pretty, and if that is
getting up to your throat, through a loosening in the
collapsible valve at the tip of your stomach, it’s going to
make your breath smell pretty foul.
Not only that, but many of the factors that contribute to bad
breath, are also causal factors for acid reflux. The foods that
you eat are a major contributor to bad breath, like spicy or
garlicky foods, which are also a major contributor to acid
reflux. Stress is also a cause for both upsets.
It stands to reason then, that by counteracting the causal
factors of GERD, you will also reduce your chances of having
bad breath, not only in striking what may be the heart of your
problem, but you’ll combat one or both of these ailments as
well.
Contrary to popular belief, making changes to your diet and stress
levels aren’t as difficult as some of the makers of pharmaceuticals would
like you to believe. They would prefer you to think that a few changes in
your diet, or a simple exercise plan will mean re-vamping your life
entirely, but this is simply not the case.
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Tips For Overcoming Bad Breath With Healthy Living...
1. Eat Healthy balanced meals with a variety
of vegetables, fruits, legumes, cereals and dairy product.
2. Try and eliminate fat from your foods...
eat more baked, boiled or grilled foods. Drink low fat or no fat milk and
other dairy products. Minimize fats as much as you can. If you do use
fats... use the good ones like Olive oil in miniscule quantities.
3. Get active. Start walking or exercising
regularly.
4. Drink 8-10 glasses of clean, clear water
daily.
5. Cut out on alcohol, caffeine, nicotine or
other drugs.
6. Get adequate sleep of 6-8 hours daily.
7. Keep Your mind stimulated by doing
crossword puzzles, playing chess, doing mental calculations etc.
8. Have a healthy social life. But make sure
to have more positive influences in your life.
9. Eliminate stress from your life. Stress
and worrying are proven cholesterol enhancers... so work on eliminating
them... you could use some tapes and cd's to help you eliminate anxiety
and stress.
10. Try deep breathing or some form of
meditation each day to help you relax.
11. The combination of healthy eating,
regular exercise, stress relief and relaxation is going to drastically
improve your life style and life expectancy.
12. Recommended Tapes and CD's :
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