Does anyone have any helpful information for bad vegan breath, please?  I'm assuming that this has to do with the vegan foods that I eat, because I never had a problem with this prior to my vegan lifestyle.  Anyway, I've been vegan since March, and I've never been happier or healthier....I'll never go back!  That being said, my husband has been telling me that I now have the worst breath ever.  That it's really foul.  I take very good care of my dental hygiene.  I brush, floss, and rinse with mouthwash, at minimum four times a day, which may seem a little obsessive, but I'm so paranoid about this breath thing now that I can't help but keep brushing excessively.  I use the J/A/S/O/N Sea Fresh toothpaste and mouthwash, so I assume that's good.  For a while I was chewing gum too, but not sure that's vegan, so I stopped.  I found a good breath spray at Whole Foods and that was vegan, but got tired of constantly spraying my mouth.  I'm beginning to wonder if it could partially be due to my favorite salad dressing Annie's Goddess dressing, so yummy, but wonder if it's smelly...?  I gave up hummus, because I got feedback that my breath was worse right after eating it.  I'm looking for input on what vegan foods could cause this bad breath problem, other causes, and remedies/solutions regardless of the cause.  Can anyone give me some input, please?  I hate to give up eating anything healthy (like hummus) but, I can't stand the thought that my breath is like this and it's hurtful to be told you have bad breath.  I don't want people to avoid me and now I'm starting to back away from others too.  It's sad that I feel so healthy, good, slimmer, sexier, better in every way, and now I have this one issue holding me back and hurting my self esteem. 

Hello Patty, 

I want you to know that everything that tastes good gives you bad breath. Falafel, coffee, hummus, garlic bread. If it doesn't smell it isn't worth eating. :) 

Anyway, stop brushing your teeth so much because it can damage your enamel (I used to do it) Also, drink more water because it rinses away the bacteria that cause bad breath. Get yourself a tongue scraper and use morning and night. You can switch toothpastes. I use the same one and have better luck with Tom's of Maine and Blanx. 

I enjoy eating smelly food with loved ones. Then you can stink together. And if all else fails go see your dentist to see if their is an underlying cause. You may just be paranoid for no reason. 

So calm down and eat up and enjoy life. 

In some cases bad breath comes from the stomach. Foods that cause belching and burping makes your breath smell like the contents of your stomach. A few big meals without snacking in between will allow the stomach to completely empty. Ginger or mint tea settles the stomach and could help.

Maybe try avoiding all garlic and onions would help. Chew a clove or a sprig of parsley, even breathing through your nose can help.

Terra & Justin,

Thank you both for responding with some great helpful advice.  I truly appreciate it!  I'll definitely try what you've suggested.  It makes sense.  I do feel much calmer and happier now.  I was kinda bummed about this.  Now that I have some solutions to try, and some comforting words from caring like minded individuals, I feel like I can more peacefully approach this "breath situation".    Maybe some more kind lifers will have some input for me too.  I had no idea that I was hurting the enamel on my teeth....good to know! 

Thanks so much!

Patty

I agree with the not over-brushing your teeth.  I had some eating issues in middle and high school and tried covering it up by constantly brushing.  Well, I pretty much wore the enamel right off my teeth by doing so and have had major dental problems ever since.  I'm currently only "allowed" to brush them once a day now, and very gently because they are so damaged from overdoing it on the brushing, so definitely tone that down.  Like Justin said, I know that usually breath issues stem from the stomach area.  I had breath issues a few years back (before going vegan) and it had to do with (sorry...about to get into tmi zone) my system being totally backed up.  When I was eating meat and dairy, I was only having bowel movements once or twice every ten days or so, if I was lucky!  Well, that food wasn't leaving my system, it had nowhere to go, and the smell was coming up through my mouth...gross I know!  I started doing acupuncture and colon hydrotherapy and experimenting with diet, and literally as soon as I was "cleaned out" and was having regular bowel movements, the breath issue disappeared!  So, if you're not having regular bowel movements, it could possibly be an issue.  I'd talk to a naturopathic doctor, or an acupuncturist and if you're up to it, look into colonics. 

Thanks, Dani!  I'll definitely stop brushing sooo much.  I'm totally "regular", being vegan and all since March, I'm okay in that area, but I get what you and Justin are saying about the smells coming from the stomach and I've thought about that.  I'm not having any bloating or gasy problems.  But, still I realize that smells from the food could come from the stomach, etc.  I wonder if the naturopathic doctor, or acupuncturist could still help me.....hmmm.....if so, I will definitely give that a try.  This is good that I am getting information now from everyone, because as of last night I had nothin' and I was just bummed out and felt doomed to having bad breath and alone with the problem.

hi there

i think eating superhero for a week will make tha go away. give it a try. eat simple clean food...and see how you feel..let us know how it goes.

love alicia

Thank you, Alicia.  I hadn't thought of that.  I'll definitely give that a try and let you guys know.  :)  

l

Taylor, thanks so much for sharing!  That makes me feel so much better, just knowing that I'm not the only person in the world who has had this problem, and, of course, I know I'm not, but you start to feel that way.  Especially when someone you're close to tells you your breath is "foul".  Thanks so much for making me feel better and for the info. and ideas.  I am doing Pilates 3 days a week now, and I just love that, and know that does help keep me peaceful, but all of that forced exhale breathing in class makes my breath worse by the time the hour is up.....but I'd never give up Pilates because of it.  I think once I get the main cause under control, then the Pilates forced exhale breathing won't be an issue.  I'm loving the ideas from everyone.  I'm going to make a list, of everyone's ideas, and put them to work for me. 

I just wanted to update on this since I originally posted this back in November.  I really wish that I could change the title of the post, because I now know this has nothing to do with any vegan food that I am eating and, of course, has nothing at all to do with being vegan!  I originally was worried that this "breath issue" that I am experiencing had something to do with food I am eating or products that I am using.  I was obviously very stressed by the whole thing.  But, since then, I was not able to solve the problem with any of the suggestions/anything natural.  So, I dug further and ended up going to both my dentist and my ENT doctor.  My dentist gave me a clean bill of health and said my mouth was not the issue at all and was perfectly healthy and as clean as could be.  BUT, the ENT did a CT scan of my nose and sinuses and it turns out that I have a few internal structural problems with my nose/nasal passages that would cause this yucky breath problem, plus other breathing problems, and a few other problems.  I had just learned, over the years, to live with these things as they had become my "normal".  It wasn't until the "breath issue" that I couldn't just live with it anymore.  I have a deviated septum, bone spur, and extremely enlarged turbinates.  They have to correct all of these things with surgery, but it's all done in one very common, routine, out-patient surgery.  No cutting on the outside of my face--it's all done through the nostrils--so I won't have any scars and my nose will still look exactly the same as it does now.  Yay!  This is all great news to me.  Fix quite a few things at once.  The way my nasal passages are now, I am down to about a third of the breathing airway that I should have, so I am not getting nearly sufficient oxygen through my nose at all.  After the surgery, it will be a huge improvement to quality of life.

Glad it got fixed. I was just in a health food store the other day and saw some toothpicks that had tea tree oil in/on them. Anyway, as you can imagine, the flavor is rather strong, but really helps with any lingering "bad breath" issues. They also have a cinnamon variety, but I only took one sample, and we both tried the original flavor. The flavor was NOTHING like the "mint" toothpicks you can get in a restaurant either. They flavor was going massively strong after 30 minutes. I actually had to take the toothpick out because it got to be too much for me...the flavor never died down!