What Foods Make Your Breath Stink?

Coffee drinkers are familiar with the unpleasant coffee breath that usually comes along with that creamy mug of morning java. Onions, garlic and other pungent foods people love to eat are also notorious for fouling up breath. Bad breath comes from a number of sometimes surprising sources on your dinner plate.

Pungent and Acidic Foods

• Onions and garlic start out with a powerful aroma. These foods contain sulphur compounds that create odor. What's more, when they are digested and distributed throughout the body, this odor is exhaled through the mouth.

  Acidic foods create an environment in your mouth that encourages the growth of bacteria that, in turn, produce these smelly sulphur compounds. Acidic foods that lead to bad breath include tart vegetables and juices, such as tomatoes and tomato juice. Unfortunately for caffeine lovers, coffee also falls into this category. If you must have a morning pick-me-up, consider switching to black tea, which does not contribute to bad breath if it's not over-sweetened.

Sugary Snacks

• Bacteria feed on sugar, making sweets a no-no for individuals who want to keep breath fresh. Chocolate, creamy desserts, sugar-filled candies and table sugar use sugar as fuel, reproducing in the mouth and emitting sulphur. Even worse, sugar contributes to plaque buildup and tooth decay, which continue the vicious odor cycle.

Protein and Dairy

• Incomplete breakdown of lactose proteins in dairy lead to amino acid buildup on the teeth and tongue. These acids are converted by bacteria to sulphur compounds that cause bad breath. Milk, cheese, yogurt -- and to a lesser extent, meats, fish and beans -- all contribute to this problem in susceptible individuals. People who are lactose intolerant are especially prone to bad breath from dairy foods.

Alcohol

• Alcohol is a desiccant that dries out the mouth, and dry mouth is a leading cause of bad breath. When people eat or drink drying agents such as alcohol, saliva isn't present in adequate amounts to wash away smelly bacteria and keep breath fresh.

Good-Breath Foods

• Foods that moisten your mouth and increase alkalinity help freshen bad breath. First, drink plenty of water to dilute and wash away odor-producing bacteria. During or after meals, consume alkaline foods to neutralize the acids that feed bacteria. Fresh herbs such as eucalyptus, cardamom, cinnamon and parsley contain compounds that destroy or neutralize odor-causing bacteria. High-fiber foods help you produce enough saliva to wash away bacteria, and help the body regulate digestive issues that may be contributing to bad breath.