On Low-Carb Diet Like Atkins, Bad Breath Likely

With diet plans involving low intake of carbs such as the one developed by the late Dr. Atkins, bad breath problems are very probable. In fact, nearly 2/3 of all people using the plan to help them shed pounds report problems with bad breath in the first 2-4 weeks. While studies have shown that low-carbohydrate diets do indeed help dieters lose weight, many struggle with trying to understand why side effects such as bad breath are so common.

You have to understand the true role of carbohydrates and how limiting their intake affects the body in order to comprehend just how to prevent bad breath while on the Atkins diet. In foods such as those that are high in proteins, the body typically breaks the substance down into its constituent parts and uses the nutrients it needs and converts the rest into fat for later energy use. The body must do this because it cannot immediately convert the food into energy.

However, carbohydrates do not need to be broken down as stored as fat for later use because they can immediately be converted into energy. Thus, if you eat a food that is high in carbohydrates, then your body does not need to burn its fat stores in order to get the energy it needs to function. So, what does any of this have to do with bad breath?
Well, severely limiting the intake of carbohydrates will force your body into a state of rapid fat-burning known as ketosis. The word ketosis is used because ketones are important to this elevated state of fat-burning. However, these ketones fundamentally change the pH levels in blood and make your body slightly acidic whereas it normally is a little on the alkaline side of the scale. These ketones are partially responsible for the bad breath side effect associated with low-carbohydrate diets.

However, another factor that causes bad breath on the Atkins and South Beach diets is dehydration. The process of ketosis causes an elevation in the metabolism rate and thus requires more water to function. Anything that causes dehydration will leave the mouth deprived of the saliva it needs to help control the population of anaerobic bacteria responsible for bad breath.

To help mitigate the dehydrating effects caused by ketosis and the Atkins diet and thus help reduce problems with bad breath and halitosis, you need to increase your water intake to compensate. Continue increasing water intake until the bad breath problem dissipates but be careful-drinking too many fluids will increase strain upon your kidneys so there is a limit when using this cure for bad breath while on a low-carb diet. If you find yourself urinating excessively or feeling pain, then also try chewing in order to induce salivation. You can try chewing on some all-natural ingredients that can help increase the level of saliva in your mouth while also acting as a breath freshener, such as:

• Parsley
• Basil
• Cinnamon bark
• Cloves
• Anise Seeds

For an all natural product that helps stimulate salivation as well as help kill the harmful anaerobic bacteria inside your mouth, try OraMD®. OraMD® is an all-natural halitosis product made from the essential oils of almond, spearmint, and peppermint. OraMD® offers a long-term solution for bad breath and halitosis by cleaning the mouth and killing the bacteria that causes these volatile sulfur compounds, or VSC's.

To learn more about how OraMD® works for atkins bad breath, follow the link.