Activated Charcoal

[Larc400]

Okay guys, when I take three activated charcoal pills (=750mg) at night before bed, I wake up with a better breath. Something happens with my saliva - it's usually very sticky/stinky, but seems cleaner when on the charcoal.


So, go to your pharmacist and get some charcoal, and give it a try.


Does this mean my BB has a gastrointestinal source after all..?

[stressedout]

Same thing I have been wondering about for a while. Tried activated charcoal too, does work for that day/night. Have not been able to figure out eating what causes problems for the digestion leading to bb. Frustrating.

[halitosisux]

Larc, roughly what kind of BB do you have?
Does your tongue get smelly/tonsil stones/coming out of the lungs only, etc

[stressedout]

Looking at the bigger and more complicated picture, if saliva gets an effect on by taking activated charcoal, I am wondering how so many hidden issues can be interconnected - malabsorption/food intolerances, lack of enzymes, candida, sinus/throat issues leading to alted saliva, what else? Aydinmur, what is your opinion on this? It is a never-ending circle to find the original cause.

[Larc400]

In the case of TMAU, the odorous compound (TMA) is secreted everywhere, including saliva. So TMAU-patients are advised to use charcoal to neutralize the odour.

I don't have TMAU though (negative urine test a few years ago) but maybe something similar.

[Larc400]

Larc, roughly what kind of BB do you have?
Does your tongue get smelly/tonsil stones/coming out of the lungs only, etc

My tongue and saliva stink, that's for sure. I thought I had the classic tongue-based anaerobic BB, but it could be a false lead. Maybe the source is elsewhere for some of us, and the tongue-smell is secondary?

[brightonguy]

Larc400, I'm also wondering whether the tongue is really the source in my case too. Like a lot of people I've been hung up on the tongue for ages because the literature suggests it's the key in most halitosis cases. Aydinmur stated though that he rarely sees Type 1 cases in his clinic - okay, this might be because (as he himself acknowledges) true Type 1 cases get sorted out by dentists and the reamining cases which dentists can't sort out end up seeing him. Confused!

[halitosisux]

Larc, what you said is a real possibility that is difficult to prove or disprove.

The same volatile chemicals produced by oral bacteria can also be produced by gut bacteria and potentially find their way into the mouth via the secretions of mucus and saliva.

It is known that in TMAU, trimethylamine is found in most bodily secretions, including saliva. Whether there is any evidence of other volatile chemicals in saliva or mucus is the important question.

The mechanisms behind TMAU are fairly well understood, and its quite likely there are other very similar 'disorders' which could produce odours in an almost identical way.

If charcoal is reducing your BB then its significant.

There are also lots of ways that foul smelling chemicals can be produced in the gut and find their way into the breath, apart from just defective enzymes. Secondary TMAU is an example of this.

[stressedout]

I remember when I was small and got sick, a doctor would always check the tongue. Tongue speaks about the inner health. If sinuses/tonsils are fine and are not the cause, then I really doubt there are many of us whose direct cause is the tongue/saliva. Unhealthy/smelly tongue is the outcome of something else going on in the body.

[Phantasist]

Dr. Aydin Murat,

"Of course there are. Ammonia, nitrous oxyde, B-hydroxy-butirat, valeric acid, and more volatile chemicals are found in saliva."

I'm assuming that these substances are NOT in saliva as it is produced by the salivary glands, but that they are absorbed once the saliva comes in contact with them in the mouth.

[halitosisux]

Phantasist, yes this is what I meant. Whether volatile chemicals are detectable in saliva as TMA is in cases of TMAU.
Other volatile chemicals could be finding their way into the saliva via the same pathways, but for different reasons.

[caramiamine98]

Anyone who is interested in trying activated charcoal should note the following.

Activated charcoal is highly adsorbent; when it is ingested at the same time as medication, supplements and foods it may decrease their absorption and utilization. Therefore, always allow 2 hours before and wait 2 hours after using activated charcoal to eat, take supplements or swallow medication.

http://www.vrp.com/articles.aspx?ProdID=art327&zTYPE=2

Cheers, C

[Larc400]

then, I order feces digestion test to detect his pancreatic sufficiency, and stool pH.

1) Which feces digestion test is this, specifically?

2) What information would you deduct from the stool pH?

[halitosisux]

Do you know of any evidence of any volatile/foul smelling chemicals that are actually detectable in pure saliva? (pure saliva being saliva before it enters the mouth)

We are constantly told that its the bacterial activity on the tongue responsible for the odour there. This is an understandable assumption because the tongue surface is a carpet of bacteria and bacterial activity. That if we scrape the surface clean, and use chemicals on it, our breath is improved because of what we do to the bacterial situation there.

But can we be absolutely certain of this? If saliva itself were to contain odourous chemicals from the by-products of digestion (such as occurs in TMAU) then this could be what causes tongues to smell bad, and not the bacterial activity which we're led to believe, that causes the odours.

By scraping the tongue clean and using chemicals to freshen it and supposedly disinfect it, all we may be doing is removing that layer on the tongue which has absorbed these foul chemicals which were carried there in the first place by our saliva.

[halitosisux]

This question was for Aydimur. I hope he sees it. If not then I think we need to make a separate thread or even a category for asking him questions so he can quickly see them.