If you're overweight, you're more likely to have bad breath, says RemedyLife.com. Not sure why, but experts are trying to figure out the connection between body mass and breath. Until they come up with some answers, they've got these tips for keeping your mouth fresh.

• Floss every day
• Drink plenty of water
• Snack on crunchy vegetables
• Minimize intake of coffee, onions, garlic, and alcohol

You could also try to lose some weight and see if that helps. If you don't think it's your weight causing bad breath, it might be a protein diet. Check out this article for more scoop.

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Do-It-Yourself diagnosis is usually a pretty bad idea; that is, unless you just so happen to have the letters M.D. that appear at the end of your signature. But for those of us without years of medical school under our belts, assuming that a particular pain, dysfunction, or even blotchy patch of skin is nothing to be concerned about can sometimes be a highly problematic for our health.

The British edition of Men's Health addresses the self-diagnosis problem in the article "7 Deadly Signs," describing how minor symptoms may actually signal major health hazards. Over the next seven days, we will provide a daily summary of one of the various aches and pains that may be indicative of a greater problem, illustrating the importance of maintaining open lines of communication with your physician and why DIY diagnosis can sometimes be dangerous.

Health Sign #7: Bad Breath

Could Possibly Be: Lung Disease

Bangin' breath may signal health problems no amount of Scope will fix. According to the Men's Health article, 90 percent of cases of bad breath were due to oral hygiene and gums, while he other 10 percent wee linked to systemic infections like lung disease, abscesses and even liver failure. Dr. John Hunt, a University of Virginia Researcher who was interviewed in the article, stated that "Lung disease, asthma and cystic fibrosis all cause highly acidic breath. And the more acidic the breath, the more severe the condition." The best defense in this case is a good offense: visit your dentist, who will then determine if the cause of your bad breath is something more serious than the hunk of sirloin that's been stuck between your molars for almost three weeks.

Links to:
Health Sign #1: Pain in Your Foot
Health Sign #2: Back Pain
Health Sign #3: Leg Pain
Health Sign #4: Diarrhea
Health Sign #5: Erectile Dysfunction
Health Sign #6: Neck/Shoulder Pain

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Maybe you know you have it and want to fix it. Maybe you don't know you have it, and your friends are trying to figure out a tactful way to tell you. Either way, bad breath -- or its more scientific name halitosis -- isn't a friend to anyone.

Bad breath can be blamed on the food you eat, but it's also sometimes an indicator of an underlying problem. The Times Online recently reviewed popular bad breath solutions. Some of them are tried and true, and some are based on little more than word of mouth:

Tried, but not yet proven to be helpful:

• chewing on parsley
• chewing special gum
• eating yogurt
• chewing fennel seeds
• chewing magnolia gum

Some research indicates it might help:

• rinsing with antibacterial mouthwash
• brushing with baking soda
• popping peppermint oil
• scraping your tongue

Proven health habits to keep bad breath at bay:

• staying hydrated
• munching on fruit
• brushing frequently
• quitting smoking
• eating breakfast
• flossing daily
• seeing dental and medical professionals to rule out underlying problems

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Have you ever been talking to someone and noticed that their breath smells like 12-day old bologna? You can't focus on a word they're saying; over and over in your head you're thinking, "Please let them pop a tick-tack, please let them pop a tick-tack." Never. They never, ever pop that damn tick-tack. Fortunately, there are some other methods to keep breath fresh, many of which you may be able to slyly suggest to bologna-breath without them getting offended.

Stay Hydrated. This is the easiest and one of the most effective ways to avoid having bad breath. The constant production of saliva prevents your mouth from drying out and, consequently, smelling like there's a zebra carcass in there.

Eat Parsley. You can easily add this chlorophyll-rich additive to foods, which will help kill odor-causing bacteria.

Drink Green Tea. In addition to being rich in antioxidants, green tea also contains catechins, which kill oral bacteria.

Get Your Vitamins. A vitamin deficiency can lead to gum disease. Infected areas of your gums can be a veritable petree dish for bacteria and lead to chronic halitosis.

And if all else fails, you can always just offer a piece of sugar-free gum.

Bad breath is disgusting to many of us. Who wants to talk or even be near someone who extols a nasty smell every time they breathe or talk?

But, did you know that digestive enzymes, which are what our bodies use to break down foods and turn them into fuel -- can also lead to bad breath?

For those fans of raw eating, you probably already know that the digestive enzymes contained in many raw foods help those foods break down efficiently when they reach the stomach. Unknown to most of us, though, is that these digestive enzymes are completely destroyed in all cooked foods.

What to do? Our bodies can make up for these destroyed enzymes, but eating at least some raw foods would give the body a break every once in a while to focus on its real job when you eat: to power your body -- not make it smell bad.

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Bad breath is one of the worst etiquette offenders out there, and while gum helps, it sometimes only seems to cover up the problem instead of fixing it. But there's a natural way to get rid of bad breath, according to this article. Magnolia bark, a traditional Chinese treatment for ever, headache and stress, has been shown to kill 99% of bad breath-causing bacteria within 5 minutes, all without having the harmful side effects of other anti-bacterial agents.

I'm not sure where you can find this miracle cure, but don't fret--researchers are currently looking into how they can incorporate it into gums and mints that are carried at a convenience store near you.

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The Japanese always seem to be at the forefront of technology, so it's no surprise that they've devised some ways to incorporate fitness into gadgets we use every day. Take the Japanese Fitness Phone, for example -- it's a phone that can measure your heart rate, act as a pedometer by counting your steps, and dish out fitness and nutrition advice.Guess what else it can do? I can tell you if you have bad breath. Just breath into it and it will tell you whether you're a-ok for that business meeting or whether you need gum or a mint pronto.

The fitness phone is aimed at the middle-aged working men of Japan -- and it's sure to be a hit since men in Japan have been getting larger over the last few years.

What do you think of weight loss and technology -- A good combination or no?

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Most of us will suffer from bad breath at least once in our lifetime. In many cases, a quick brush of the teeth or a mint can take care of much of the problem, but others suffer from bad breath on a regular basis. Though in terms of general health, the problem may seem small, it can be socially difficult.

If you suffer from chronic bad breath, help may be on the way. Last week, 200 scientists descended upon Chicago for the International Conference on Breath Odor Research, for one reason and one reason alone: to conquer bad breath once and for all. Though they know that bad breath is caused by bacteria, and that most breath problems originate on the tongue, they want to further research on the causes and treatments of halitosis.

In the mean time, if bad breath is stopping you from getting close to someone you love or you find them avoiding you, here's some general advice on the cause and treatments of the condition.

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Isn't it awful when you show up to an afternoon meeting, only to realize your breath smells atrocious? At least for me, I can barely concentrate on what I'm saying for fear I might breathe to close to someone else's nose.

Of course mints or gum can provide some temporary relief for those around you, but according to this MSN Health article, you might try certain foods as a natural remedy for halitosis.

Reminding us that "breath odors originate not just inside the mouth but also from your digestive tract," the article recommends herbs like coriander and spearmint, yogurt (though you should make sure to get the kind with active cultures, not the overly processed stuff), fruits and vegetables that are high in fiber (apples, carrots, celery, etc) and foods rich with vitamin C.

So get a handle on that bad breath -- if not for your own sake, for the rest of us!

[via Lifehacker]

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Is your breath reaching people before your words? Has a dear friend or family member politely leaned into you to tell you that you have bad breath? The first thing you do is cup your hand to your mouth and blow in it to check your breath. Instead keep a pack of gum in your pocket or purse and pop it into your mouth. Chewing gum after a meal, when you can't brush your teeth, will freshen your breath and the chewing action of the gum mixed with your saliva will clean your teeth.

Two other helpful hints to keep bad breath at large is to lightly brush your tongue after you are finished cleaning your teeth. Your tongue holds a ton of bacteria that can get rather smelly. Drink your daily requirement of water. Water is a cure for practically everything including bad breath. By keeping yourself well hydrated, your bad breath will surely reduce.

In some cases bad breath may be the sign of a local infection in the respiratory tract, chronic sinusitis, postnasal drip, chronic bronchitis, diabetes, gastrointestinal disturbance, liver or kidney ailment. If your dentist determines that your mouth is healthy, you may be referred to your family doctor or a specialist to determine the cause of bad breath.

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If your best friend had horrible breath, would you tell them? Someone might want to....did you know that you can't smell your own breath, no matter how hard you try? It's called acclimation and it makes us immune to the odors emanating from out mouths.

The fact is that bad breath is a very common problem and not one of us is immune. Morning breath, coffee breath, stale breath...we all could use some freshening up, especially if we're going to to be in face-to-face situations with other people. Many people believe that bad breath comes from poor oral hygiene or from the stomach (ever worried after eating garlic for lunch?) But in reality, most cases of bad breath come from the millions of bacteria that live our mouths.

So what can you do about bad breath? Gums, mints, and breath sprays can mask the smell and offer a short-term fix, but stopping the odor at the source is much more productive. Mouthwashes kill the germs that cause bad breath -- think Scope and Listerine. But newer products -- like Therabreath and Smartmouth -- contain odor eliminators and preventors that may be even more effective at keeping breath fresh long-term.

If someone you know has bad breath, be gentle. In the long run, they may be glad you told them, but coming clean can cause embarrassment. Want to tell them, but don't know how? This website will send an anonymous and non-judging letter to your friend for you.

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Usually, I'm a little skeptical of alternative remedies unless they've been prescribed by a professional -- you never know what you're getting yourself into. But I recently came across this article, which offers unique (some might say bizarre) ways to aid common ailments, including (I kid you not), playing the didgeridoo for sleep apnea, shining a blue light in the mouth to combat bad breath and text messaging to quit smoking. I'm not sure how sure-fire these 'cures' are but I doubt they're harmful to your health so why not give them a try? By the way, the article wins the clever line of the week award in my books for "Brahms is the balm." Hysterical!

What wacky cures have you heard of?

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