Daisy's Story
I have been suffering pretty consistently from bad breath for many years, which has caused me much pain, thwarted dreams and ambitions and has crippled my self-esteem in social and intimate contexts, and has presented many a challenge in my professional life. I also battle with depression as a result, and get, generally, pretty bored and tired of the lonely lifestyle this handicap causes. Anyway, I have learned a few things along the way, which I would like to share with everyone here.1. Go to a doctor first to rule out any sort of disease.
2. In my case, allopathic doctors have never been able to help me, so I have gone the alternative route. I have systemic yeast which I treat with a combination of macrobiotic and anti-yeast diet. I cannot speak for others, but in my case I need to alkalize my system. I drink an umeboshi plum and tamari drink which really helps me. Umeboshi plums are salty and very alkalizing. It really helps the breath, and helps my stomach.
"Natural Healing Through Macrobiotics" by Michio Kushi has a lot of helpful home remedies, and has several combinations of the ume-tamari drink. I put about 1 tsp. of umeboshi paste into a cup of boiling water, then add about 1 tsp. or less of tamari. You can also substitute the water with green tea.
Or if you prefer, you can just eat an umeboshi plum. I buy the paste because it is less expensive.
Otherwise I would get a book on basic macrobiotics.
Animal products and oils really make me suffer, so mostly I eat grains, veggies, legumes, some meat and fish. I'd say I am loosely macrobiotic. Macrobiotics does use a lot of soy, which I don't tolerate very well due to the fermentation, so I eat tamari, but not miso or tempeh. Again, every person is different, so each person will have to modify the diet to his or her needs.
I really try to avoid sugar, dairy, fast-foods, fried foods, really processed foods, nightshades, alcohol and generally avoid coffee. Stimulants and stress really provoke the problem, and in my case, anything that acidifies, ie, all of the above. I cannot eat vinegar because it is fermented, but I can have Umeboshi vinegar, which is pickled (made with salt). And it is delicious! Alcohol is devastating to my system and produces terrible breath which gets progresively worse with time.
Eating a high-fiber, low-fat diet such as macrobiotics really reduces the post-nasal drip, which used to be another contributing cause of odor.
Now I clean my nose out every morning with a neti-pot. You put in about 1 tsp. of salt (or until it doesn't sting your nose) and warm water, and flush each side.
2. If you have low stomach acid, the problem could be solved pretty easily by taking HCl (hydrochloric acid). Again, I would go to a doctor and get a stomach acid test.
There is a very good book called "Why Stomach Acid is Good for You" by Jonathan Wright and Lane Lenard. I take HCl pills, and at first they seemed to solve the problem, but as with most pills I have tried, they don't provide the full answer.
3. Acupuncture really helps me. Like someone else who posted here I also have spleen dampness. I would find a good acupunturist and try it out.
4. Teeth brushing: I use diluted hydrogen peroxide (50% water, 50% peroxide) and baking soda. Then I gargle with it for about 1 min. and rinse with water. This is the cheapest and most effective tooth-cleaner I have found.
Normal toothpastes don't work for me, but I have just discovered that Ecodent tooth powder is pretty effective, perhaps due to the salt content. The whitening ones don't work, but the normal mint and anise flavors are very helpful.
5. Drink a lot of water!
6. Get enough sleep!
7. Get some exercise!
8. And last but not least: There is a wonderful herb. for depression, which really helps me. It's called "Scletium Tortuosum" which you can order from africanbotanicals.com. I think Big Tree Health makes it. I use the 50 mg. Scletium, and take one in the morning with breakfast. Scletium has the wonderful quality of helping balance you when you are down, and then when you are balanced again you will naturally just feel you don't need it any more. Scletium also helps with addiction, and it helped me when I quit smoking.
9. Oh, I almost forgot, probiotics are important. Either eat fermented foods like sauerkraut or miso, or take a supplement. Because of my yeast problem, I can't eat fermentation, so I take a supplement.
Okay, I think that's all for now. I hope all this is helpful!