How to pass the breath test
A lovely confident smile is more important when it comes to dating than nice eyes or a toned body, according to research by Bupa Dental. But if you’re worried about bad breath, the thought of smiling and laughing with someone you fancy – let alone kissing someone this Valentine’s Day – may send you scurrying off with lips clamped shut.
US dentist Dr. Harold Katz started researching halitosis in 1993 when his teenage daughter was suffering from the embarrassing problem. In his comprehensive ebook The Bad Breath Bible (download free from thebreathco.com), Dr. Katz explains that ‘bad breath is the result of billions of bad breath-related bacteria eating leftover proteins in your
mouth and converting them to smelly, sulphur-based waste’.
You need some bacteria in your mouth to help immunity and digestion, but an excess of bad-breath-related bugs, which
lurk under the surface of your tongue and at the back of your throat, ‘leads to stronger and more frequent breath odour problems’.
So what can you do? First, confirm you have the problem. ‘Lick the back of your hand, let it dry for ten seconds and then smell,’ suggests Dr. Katz. If it’s whiffy, remember that while good oral hygiene is always essential it may not prevent bad breath, so try the following…
• Tackle a dry mouth. Saliva helps control bacteria so this is key. Likely causes include smoking, alcohol (also in some mouthwashes), coffee, energy drinks, mouth breathing, sleep apnoea, some drugs and toothpastes containing sodium lauryl sulphate.
• Reduce sugars of all kinds. Bacteria feast on sugar, leading to halitosis as well as plaque, gum disease and tooth staining. Bugs also thrive on protein-rich foods, particularly red meat, says Dr Eddie Coyle of Bupa Dental.
• Drink lots of water but avoid waste-producing acidic juices, eg, tomato and citrus.
• Steer clear of bad-breath villains, e.g. garlic and onions.
• Try The Breath Co range, which includes sugar-free Dry Mouth Lozenges/£9, perfect to pop in a pocket or bag, from Boots and other leading chemists.
By now, winter root vegetables may be losing their appeal. Frozen veggies offer a quick, healthy alternative. In my local Waitrose, I’ve discovered new Beans & Seeds Steamers, a mix of edamame beans, peas, black beans and seeds, ready seasoned and in microwaveable servings, £2.09 for two 160g pouches. The nutrient-rich, vegan mix offers a high level of folic acid – important for everyone and vital for would-be mums.
BOOK OF THE WEEK: Make Someone Happy and Find Your Own Happiness Along the Way by Emily Coxhead (Vermilion/ £9.99).
If you’re single, you may feel a tad wistful on Valentine’s Day. I spent years alone before I found the man I truly wanted to marry. (I was 60, so it’s never too late.) Looking happy and spreading happiness is the most attractive feature in anyone, so I want to highlight this engaging new book.
A few years ago the book’s author Emily, a Lancashire-born designer and illustrator, was feeling ‘a little bit sad and decided to do something about it – for myself more than anybody else’. So, in 2015, she launched The Happy Newspaper to celebrate all that’s good in the world. It brought her ‘heaps of happiness, hope and love’ and many others told her it had the same effect on them, ‘even some who had been cracked and glued together far too
many times’.
The essence of Emily’s philosophy is simply to help people. She suggests doing ‘tiny things – smiling, helping somebody with heavy luggage, or asking a homeless person if they want some food’. The book is designed as a ‘creative kindness journal’ so there are pages to write, for instance, three favourite things about someone you know, which you then tell them. Or cut out tiny notes with comforting words such as, ‘You mean the whole world to SO many people’ and leave them in a library book or a café menu.
In a world that often seems hard and unloving, creating such bubbles of kindness is priceless.