Causes of bad breath: Food

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1. Food

The biggest reason for bad breath is caused by what we eat. Foods like garlic and onions have oils in them that coat your mouth and coffee can make your breath smell too.

But the oils also get absorbed into your blood, through to the lungs and then the smell is in the air you breathe out too.

Brushing, flossing and mouthwash will only mask the smell and your breath won't stop smelling until the oils leave your body.

If you're on a diet you might get bad breath because you're not eating enough.

Tips:
- Mint is a good way of freshening your mouth after food so chewing gum or brushing your teeth straight after will give the bacteria less time to breed (urgh!). Or you could even try chewing sprigs of mint.
- To get rid of garlic, try chewing parsley. It neutralises some of the oils in garlic and that's why you'll find it sprinkled on a lot of garlic breads and pizzas.
- Coffee breath can be made a little better by drinking a cup of hot water afterwards.

- Top expert tips for beating bad breath caused by food

Read on: Can being nervous give you bad breath?

Where next?
- Get more on bad breath from our health pages
- Improve your dental health with our expert guide
- Expert advice on getting rid of bad breath

By Vicky Woollaston