What is Your Bad Breath Trying to Tell You About Your Health?

No one likes to admit that they have bad breath, but sometimes the fact becomes undeniably true. Some of us have days where our breath is worse than others, and what we typically resort to is popping in a piece of gum, mint or fruity candy.

This can sometimes help, but when it doesn’t and the bad breath lingers for long periods of time, then it likely has nothing to do with whatever meal you’ve just eaten.

It could be that there’s something going awry inside of your body and it’s emitting the strange, sometimes foul, smells that come out of your mouth.

So rather than ignoring or covering up the stench, you may want to get it checked out by your doctor. If you’re not convinced, here are some of the conditions that are known to cause funny smelling breath.

There’s something else brewing in your stomach

It’s very rare for Americans to have their stomachs checked out for ulcers and cancer, at least not until the bigger symptoms start to show up. Now, there is a way for routine screenings to be performed without invasive methods like endoscopy. What’s used is a breath test known as nanoarray analysis. This is able to determine the levels of certain compounds that are connected with stomach cancer. Ask your doctor if this technology is available to you, so that you can have this ruled out.

Low production of saliva & dry mouth

When you go to sleep, the production of saliva decreases naturally. This allows odorous bacteria to form and grow. This is made worse for people who have sleep apnea or who snore, because they have issues with breathing through their nose, so they sleep with their mouths open to breathe. This in turn increases foul breath.

Something fishy is going on with your kidneys

If your breath smells like you’ve just eaten fish or some other type of seafood, and you haven’t, then it could be because you’re suffering from kidney failure. The smell may also resemble ammonia or urine.

This happens because the kidneys are responsible for removing toxins from your body and when they aren’t doing their job, the toxins begin to accumulate in all parts of your body. The fishy smell emits when the kidney failure starts to affect the respiratory system.

Fruity breath isn’t something to be proud of

When your breath smells fruity or like acetone, this could be an indication of diabetes. If you have already been diagnosed with diabetes and you aren’t managing it properly, this can lead to gum disease and dry mouth.

Infections in your gums persist when your body’s sugar levels aren’t stable, since your system is weakened and unable to combat the bacteria.

Fruity or acetone-like breath could be a serious red flag for diabetic patients. It could mean they have a condition called ketoacidosis, which is when the body doesn’t have sufficient insulin and is instead using fatty acids as a form of energy.

This in turn produces fat metabolism byproducts known as acidic ketones. These accumulate in your blood, which can eventually lead to a coma or even death.  

Bad breath is also a common sign that you are in ketosis while following the keto diet.  But of course you would know that the keto diet is the reason for the bad breath.

Your heart is giving up on you

Studies show that there is a link between bad breath and heart failure. There was a study conducted with 41 patients, 25 of which were diagnosed with decompensated heart failure.

The others had a variety of other cardiovascular conditions that had no ties to heart failure. Breath samples were collected from everyone, which detected molecular and chemical compounds that were connected to heart failure. The test results accurately .revealed which of the patients had heart failure.

There’s something rotting in your intestines

GERD, which stands for Gastroesophageal reflux disease, is known for being connected to foul smelling breath. This is a condition that involves issues with digestion, similar to acid reflux. Both conditions cause a delay in the processing of foods once it enters your stomach.

Instead of pushing through like it’s supposed to, it stays there rotting away. Other symptoms of GERD include red throat and teeth erosion caused by acid — this is oftentimes spotted by dentists.

An infection is taking over your respiratory system

When you catch the flu, sinusitis or bronchitis, is can lead to bad breath. These infections attack your respiratory system, which causes the tissues to become inflamed and the tract to break down. This then leads to an accumulation of mucus and bacteria-feeding cells.

Another way bad breath can form is when you have allergies or issues with your nasal passage, forcing you to breathe through your mouth. This causes dryness and allows odorous bacteria to form.

Your teeth and gums are rotting away

There’s no doubt that gingivitis and tooth decay cause bad breath. When the enamel of your teeth breaks down and forms holes, food gets trapped inside, causing bad smells to emit. With gingivitis, your gums are inflamed by bacteria, which can lead to discharge that doesn’t smell too great.

Improve your health to improve your breath

One way to ensure that you don’t have bad breath is to take good care of your health. You have to find out what underlying conditions you may have and get them in check.

Eating healthier and staying well-hydrated are very important. You can also use natural methods to cover the smell until you improve your condition, such as chewing/sucking on clove, brushing your teeth with activated charcoal and oil pulling with coconut oil.

Have you been suffering from horrible breath? Do you know what’s causing it?