An extra large coffee for breakfast followed by a garlicky pizza slice for lunch is the ideal combination for breath that scares off your coworkers for the rest of the day. And even if you watch what you eat at lunch and try to avoid common bad breath culprits (i.e., caffeine, onions, garlic, sugar) bad breath can still sneak up on you during the day thanks to naturally occurring-bacteria in the mouth.
However, if you find yourself facing an important date or meeting without a toothbrush, bottle of mouthwash, or stick of gum in sight, you can quickly neutralize an offensive mishap by reaching for these quick bad breath fixes…
1. An Apple
An apple a day might keep the doctor away, but it will also be sure to fix bad breath keeping your coworkers at bay! Sorry, my rhyming got the better of me there, but you get my drift: apples blast bad breath! But how?
The fruit contains a powerful set of oxidized polyphenols, powerful aids that neutralize nasty odor from the bacteria in your mouth. Plus, the actual motion of biting into a crisp apple quite literally scrapes away odorous bacteria from the teeth, gums, and tongue as you eat.
2. Tea
Teas help you hydrate the body, and the mouth, throughout the day. So if you reach for green or herbal tea past noon, good for you. If you suffer from bad breath, you may already be doing yourself, and your coworkers, a service.
According to orthodontists at Columbia University, green tea contains the odor-blasting prowess of polyphenols, certain chemical compounds that block bacteria from growing and causing bad breath. So hydrate midday and set a tea time!
3. Parsley
Many of us are so used to popping mints and gum that we hardly realize several other fresh herbs (i.e., like mint) also blast bad breath. I’m talking about another herb known as parsley. This fresh, flowery green herb often garnishes garlicky pasta meals for a good reason.
In fact, a 2014 study from the Institute of Food Technologists notes that parsley may be even more effective than mint when it comes to fighting garlic breath. Thanks to what scientists called “enzymatic deodorization” parsley was able to lessen the offensive traces of allyl methyl disulfide, diallyl disulfide, allyl mercaptan, and allyl methyl sulfide on human breath after eating raw garlic.
4. Celery
You would normally envision celery as the delivery tool for many breath offensive foods (i.e., hummus, spinach dip, garlic dip). However, it turns out the cocktail party staple turns into a natural breath freshener in a pinch as well!
In fact, water veggies, or those with high water content (i.e., celery, carrots, and bell peppers) can become a pretty handy DIY toothbrush when you’re desperate to make a good, and garlic free, impression. So crunch away, the action will stimulate saliva production and lessen bad breath.
5. Coffee
Ok, I was ready to cry foul when I heard that coffee is actually a bad breath aid as well, particular because I dissed java in the opening paragraph of this article. Researchers at Tel Aviv University’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine discovered that coffee extract can stop bad breath bacteria in it’s offensive tracks.
However, researchers make one very important designation, the coffee you’re drinking must be black. That means no cream, no milk, and no sugar. Why? The reason coffee leaves you with dry mouth, and nasty breath, is due to the pungency of these popular coffee additives, no necessarily the java by itself.
6. Water
When all else fails an old tried and true glass of water will almost always do the trick! As mentioned, when the mouth gets dry we are most prone to bad, offensive breath. This is when bacteria emits a foul gas that can easily scare off anyone within a mile radius.
I’m kidding of course, but remaining hydrated will trigger saliva production and stop bacteria from releasing any offensive gases. That means a hydrated mouth is a fresh smelling mouth!
