Over sixty percent of people report problems with bad breath on low carb diet plans such as the Atkins diet.  A smaller but significant proportion of dieters report similar bad breath problems on the South Beach plan as well.  So, why does a diet and bad breath suddenly go hand-in-hand—especially on low carb plans?

 

Not all diets will cause bad breath problems.  In fact, chronic bad breath is caused by bacteria in the mouth so the appearance of issues due to dieting is a very strange phenomenon.  Fortunately, a low carb diet does not lead to chronic halitosis but there is a very good reason why short term issues arise when adhering to plans like Atkins or South Beach.

 

A low carb diet essentially forces your body to alter the way in which it typically gets its energy.  The essence of Atkins and similar plans is to force your body into a state known as ketosis.  Typically, your body converts carbohydrates directly into energy as they pass through the digestive system.  This is essentially a “short cut” because the body normally processes food and stores it as fat for later energy usage.

 

Ketosis occurs when the carbohydrate intake is limited to the point that your body is forced to convert stored fat into energy—and this is where the weight loss comes from.  However, bad breath problems occur because ketosis involves the production of ketones.  It is these ketones that actually cause bad breath on the low carb diets.

 

However, chronic halitosis or bad breath is not a huge concern if you are on a low carb diet because most plans gradually increase carbohydrate intake once weight loss goals are met.  A constant state of ketosis is not healthy so the ketone production will become lower as you modify your diet to account for the lost weight.  However, you will still be likely to have bad breath problems during the initial periods of rapid weight loss on most low carb diet plans.

 

However, there are a few steps that you can take to remedy the bad breath during the period of ketosis, including:

• Increasing water intake—not only is this necessary as most low-carb diet plans alter metabolism and require increased fluids—but water will help keep bacteria levels low which can cause bad breath problems anyway.
• Brushing the tongue is another great idea because the bacteria that cause bad breath are located here.  Be careful to brush the back of the tongue because this is where bacteria tend to gather and produce the sulfur compounds responsible for the odor associated with halitosis
• Chew sugarless gum (bacteria feed upon sugar and their population will grow if you use sugared gum) or suck on sugarless hard candy.  The point is to stimulate the production of saliva which will help control the anaerobic bacteria that are at the source of your bad breath cause

 

By making these simple adjustments during the initial phases when ketosis is highest, you will manage the bad breath on a low carb diet while still shedding the pounds. For an all natural product to help eliminate the bacteria that cause bad breath and halitosis, try OraMD®. We are so confident in our product that it comes with a one year 100% money back guarantee! Follow the link to find out more about a low carb diet and bad breath.