Bad Breath And Acid Reflux

Acid reflux is something that is rapidly rising up and affecting more and more people each year. And some of those that are affected usually get bad breath because of it.

But what is acid reflux, how does it relate to bad breath, and how can we get rid of it? Read on to learn more about bad breath and acid reflux.

Acid Reflux

Acid reflux is a problem where the juices in your stomach come up into your esophagus, and sometimes up into your mouth. That’s why it is called acid reflux. The acid (i.e. juices) fluctuate in a sense, and when they reflux (i.e. go up), you got what the name is called.

Acid Reflux is sometimes known as GERD, heart burn, pyrosis, and acid indigestion. Affecting nearly anyone, and any age, it can be difficult to treat it, since there are a number of ways that your body could be fighting against this reflux.

Sometimes, it may just be that part of your body, a certain ‘valve’ above you stomach isn’t working properly. What happens after you eat something is that it passes through the esophagus and into the stomach. Right below the esophagus is a circle of muscle, called the gastroesophageal sphincter.

This muscle acts as a valve to keep the acid in the stomach and not come back up. When it doesn’t work properly is when acid reflux will occur.

So what are some reasons that you might have acid reflux?

Diet. Very often, diet play a big role in many of our health reasons. In taking a lot of acidic foods, carbonated soda’s and other foods like that can play a large role in having acid reflux.

Weight. Being overweight can also bring about acid reflux. Maintaining a healthy weight not only helps with acid reflux but also with a number of other health benefits.

Tight Clothing. Wearing restrictive and tight clothing will sometimes restrict the gut to work. For example, you may be restricting the colon, and so the food can’t move as easily downwards, and so it then goes back up, causing acid reflux.

Lying Down. It’s always healthy not to eat right before going to bed. Most experts will say that you want to wait at least 3 hours before lying down after eating. Lying down before that could cause things to flow the wrong way, and come back up into your esophagus and into your mouth.

Acid Reflux And Bad Breath

Besides bringing about bad breath, acid reflux can cause the following:

• Wheezing and coughing
• A bitter taste in the mouth
• heartburn sensation
• burning in the esophagus
• pain/difficulty when swallowing
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Asthma
• Hoarsness

Specifically, bad breath can come about when one is dealing with acid reflux. This happens due to the acid rising up all the way up and coming up to the back of your throat. Coating the entire back of your throat, the acid can produce a rather foul odor when you breathe in and out of your mouth.

So, what are some things that help and hinder acid reflux?

Changing Your Diet To Cure Acid Reflux

The number one way to cure acid reflux naturally is through your diet. But changing your diet doesn’t just mean that you just need to add foods, but also you need to remove foods that might help trigger acid reflux.

The foods below should be used as tests to see if these help your acid reflux or hinders it. Not all the foods will cause acid reflux, and not all the food will completely cure it. But with simple testing, over the course of a few weeks, you should be able to find foods that might just be triggering the acid reflux to happen.

Foods to remove from your diet

Fatty Foods. You know these foods. Your french fries, potato chips, fast foods. Even ice cream, and fatty cuts of meat, like pork, bacon, and ham, should be eaten sparingly. The reason behind this is because the fatty foods help relax that valve below your esophagus and allows acid to be pushed upwards past it.

Acidic foods. If you’re dealing with acid reflux, it’s best to cut out anything that will contribute to that acid. So the following should be used sparingly, or eliminated entirely:

• Tomatoes
• Limes
• Lemons
• Oranges
• Grapefruit
• Salsa
• Tomato Sauce
• Pineapple

Mint Flavors. Some times, mint, or mint flavors can cause acid reflux. Cutting out all those things flavored with mint, chewing gum, breath mints, teas, etc, isn’t a bad idea either.

Chocolate. I know, some of you are wondering why chocolate would have to be on this list. But it is. The problem is that most chocolates contains an ingredient called methylxanthine. Methylxanthine has been known to relax that valve below the esophagus and allow the acid to reflux up into your esophagus and into your mouth.

Spicy foods. Onions, garlic, and other spicy foods could be a trigger for your acid reflux. It doesn’t mean that they will trigger it, but spicy foods have been known to cause heartburn in some people.

Now, as said before, not every one of these foods will cause acid reflux. Many of these foods you’ll probably be able to eat. It’s just a matter of eating certain ones, and then seeing if acid reflux comes about because of it. If it does, then you’ve learned of a food to make sure to stay away from.

Foods to add to your diet

Now that we’ve learned what foods to avoid, it’s best to learn what foods to keep and add to our diet, thus helping get rid of acid reflux completely.

Whole grains. Whole grains, like oats, rice, and wheat, all have large amounts of fiber in them. This is beneficial in that the fiber can help soak up some of the acid in your stomach, and thus keep the reflux at bay. Oatmeal, rice dishes, and whole wheat bread are all good sources of fiber and acid reflux fighters.

Unsaturated fats. Saturated fats and trans fats are fats that should be left out of your diet. But healthy fats, like sesame oil, sunflower oil, walnuts, avocados, are all good sources of unsaturated fats that will help get rid of your acid reflux.

Ginger. With properties that help treat heartburn or other gastrointestinal problems, ginger is one of those go-to foods to help with Acid reflux. Simple grate it up, and add it to your water, make a tea out of it, or put it in a smoothie, and enjoy it.

Non-citrus fruits. Pears, apples, bananas, melons. All are good sources of sugars and fibers that are less likely to cause acid reflux from happening.

Lean meats. Meats that have less fat on them are a good option to have when fighting acid reflux. Chicken, turkey, seafood, and fish. Have them grilled, baked, poached, or boiled.

Curing Bad Breath By Curing Acid Reflux

If you bad breath is coming from acid reflux, then the best way to cure your bad breath is by curing your acid reflux. Follow the above suggestions of foods to add and take out of your diet, and see if that helps.

If your acid reflux is taking awhile to get rid of, make sure to brush your teeth, and back of the throat, and floss regularly, in order to help get rid of the acid from out of your mouth, which can be causing your bad breath, and other discomforts. But I’m sure in no time soon will you have conquered your acid reflux, and thus, conquered your bad breath.