That's Fit

Nobody wants raunchy breath, which is why mouthwash can be found in many bathroom cabinets across America. The crazy part is, though, it may actually cause your breath to smell worse.

If your mouthwash contains alcohol -- which about 90 percent of all brands do -- you may want to rethink using it before your next big date. As it turns out, alcohol dries your mouth to the point that bacteria gets stuck there, rather than being washed away by saliva. What's more, alcohol can actually feed surviving bacteria, say researchers from Tel Aviv University, causing your breath to smell even worse. So, swishing some mouthwash around may provide a quick fix, but it will probably be very temporary.

Try alcohol-free mouthwash for fresher breath and be sure to floss. Also, try not to go hungry, as prolonged periods of not eating have also been shown to cause funky breath. Then, you should finally be ready to pick up your date and not have to worry about them wilting like a flower.

Fight bad breath with these 6 tips

By now, we should all be aware of the importance of breathing. After all, it's what keeps us alive, right? So why is it that when we work out our hardest, we sometimes forget to breathe? That's when our bodies need it the most--when we're pushing our limits and challenging ourselves to the max.

So how's your breathing during your workout? For me, it's the weights that make me forget my breath. I take a weight-lifting class a few times a week and funny though it sounds, I usually need to be reminded by the instructor to breathe--otherwise I'll hold my breath until I get a short break. No wonder I get dizzy sometimes!

All of my friends in the so-called "allergy capital of the country", Gainesville, Florida have allergies. I mean ALL of them. Growing up on the beach in South Florida, I didn't know a sole who spoke of the evils of allergies. Now, everyone on my speed dial is speaking with a raspy voice and choking up a lung.

Winter can be especially rough. If you're dealing with the aggravations of allergies or worse, the brutal side-effects that come with asthma...Women's Health magazine has a pretty great resource for you. The Women's Health Allergies and Asthma Clinic offers the full scoop on breathing easy through this winter.

Did you know that each breath exhaled by a person contains more than a thousand different molecules? I know I didn't; that is, until reading about a new disease-spotting technique that's being tested by scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Using a laser light to sample a person's breath, researchers may someday be able to detect molecules that are indicators of such diseases as cancer, diabetes, and asthma. Optical frequency comb spectroscopy -- which is the actual name of what more simple-minded people such as myself have called shining a laser through breath -- may offer a low-cost, speedy, noninvasive method of health screening in the very near future.

To read more about this remarkable advancement in medical technology (and wordsmanship), click HERE.

Breathing is very important. "Thank you, Captain Obvious" is probably what you're thinking. But, there is a reason why I mention something that seems so obvious.

First off, weight training, resistance training -- it all pretty much means the same thing, so don't get confused by the wording. Basically, anything that involves the pushing or pulling of something -- be it a dumbbell, a resistance band, or even your own body weight -- falls under the umbrella category of weight or resistance training.

Back to my point -- when it comes to resistance training, there is a risk of raising the blood pressure in your eyes. Research shows that because of something called Valsalva (an effort to exhale while keeping your air passages closed), an increase in blood pressure can occur. The same applies for cardio, although it is rare for people hold their breath while performing exercises of this kind.

Just some healthy advice from your friendly neighborhood Captain Obvious. But before I go, I just want to point out that there were a lot of spaceships in the movie Star Wars. Just something I noticed.

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose two per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Hi Fitz! My 12-year-old daughter has started getting into fitness, all on her own motivation. She's always been on the thin side, and is certainly a healthy weight...and a fairly healthy eater. She said she wants to work out to build muscle and put on a few pounds (certainly not what you usually hear from girls at that age group). I want to support her, but I also want to be sure she is doing things in a healthy age-appropriate way.

She lives with her dad and we live in different states, which certainly makes matters more complicated. If she lived with me we could figure out ways to exercise together. Her dad and his girlfriend are both overweight with unhealthy habits. Any suggestions on how to get started? And is there anything she shouldn't be doing yet or things I should look out for? Thanks, Judy

Hello Miss Judy. You ask a great question and are smart to be both excited and leery of the situation. A child of 12 eager to pursue true fitness is an absolute gift. It is also a perfect point for that child's parent to stop and evaluate the situation, to make sure it's addressed correctly.

A daily dose of yogurt isn't just good for your waistline. It's also good for your breath.

A new study suggests that eating six ounces of yogurt each day may keep your breath free of offensive odors. Credit goes to the active cultures found in yogurt and while further studies are in order for confirming these results, researchers say adding yogurt to your diet may be a safe and effective way to minimize bad breath.

There's a bonus too: In addition to decreasing odor-causing compounds in the mouth by 80 percent, yogurt seems to decrease the risk of plaque build-up as and the gum disease gingivitis.

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.

Hot flashes. Probably the most famous of all the menopause symptoms. But what if you could do away with them just by breathing a certain way? No pills, no hormones, just breathing.

It's called paced respiration, and the women who practice it can usually cut their number of hot flashes in half. Nobody really knows how or why this breathing technique works, but it does.

Halitosis, the technical term for bad breath (aka oral malodour, apparently), can be an embarrassing and touchy subject. Let's face it, nobody wants to repel people with their breath. There are a range of potential causes for bad breath, some of which are medical and may be helped by a simple visit to the doctor. Others though, have more to do with what you eat and various habits.

If you know you suffer from halitosis and want to try to remedy the situation, it might be worthwhile to take some (or all) of the advice suggested here. Avoiding food like garlic and onions might help, but apparently not eating at all may cause bad breath, so make sure eat a regular, healthy diet. Other tips include staying hydrated as dry mouth can cause foul breath, giving up cigarettes and looking after your mouth and teeth by brushing, flossing and gargling with mouthwash.

As mentioned, if none of these things seem to work, it's probably a good idea to make an appointment to discuss the situation with your doctor.

Toss those hot dogs, bacon, and cured meats you're planning to devour -- because they could just take your breath away.

According to an analysis published recently in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, people who munch on these meaty items have an increased risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD, the umbrella term for emphysema and chronic bronchitis, is the fourth leading cause of death in America and is primarily caused by smoking. Still, diet plays a role and while studies don't conclusively link eating habits with COPD, there does seem to be an association. Specifically, those who ate 14 or more servings of cured meat per month increased their odds of developing this condition by 80 percent.

I don't know about you, but 80 percent seems pretty significant to me. This, along with the fact that cured meats contain large amounts of nitrates -- linked to lung damage in animals -- is enough for me to steer clear of these iffy meats for the rest of time.

Some people experience it more than others, but I think most of us have gone through it at some point in our lives: that frustrating inability to get a deep breath when you're really nervous or anxious about something. This article I came across was published awhile ago, but it's got a great set of tips (complete with stick man illustrations!) on how to "reboot" your lungs and get over that annoying shallow breathing pattern we sometimes get stuck in.

If nervous breathing happens to you often how do you deal with it?

I once had a friend whose worst nightmare was the thought that she'd have terrible breath and everyone would know but her. It's an understandable fear because nothing halts a conversation faster than foul breath. Have you ever chatted with (or worse, kissed) someone and caught an overwhelming whiff of garlic or tuna that never really went away? How long did that conversation (or kiss) last? Not long, I'm guessing.

If you're worried about your occasional bad breath -- and keep in mind that chronic halitosis can be a sign of a serious condition and should be addressed with a doctor or dentist -- then check out this article that rates common odor-fighters on their ability to tame bad breath.

Testers tried out five tools for controlling breath odor including mist, mouthwash, toothpastes and even a tongue scraper and rated how fresh the products made them feel. It seems that they all worked but some better and for longer than others. Do you have any tried and true methods for dealing with bad breath?

Any experienced yogi is aware of the Vinyasa -- that series of poses that you do about 100 times during the practice to link your other poses together. But if you're new you yoga, trying to get in to it or just plain curious as to what goes on in one of those classes, Fitsugar has put together a video of the Vinyasa. Basically, a Vinyasa serves a specific purpose -- to link the practice all together and get you focusing on your breath through a series of fluid motion.

Though my weak wrists have meant I struggle with downward dog, I find Vinyasas very calming-yet-invigorating. It's a great way to renew your body throughout the practice. Here's how it goes:

1. Inhale: move into plank position
2. Exhale: Chaturanga, which means lowering yourself to the ground
3. Inhale: Upwards facing dog -- shine your heart forward
4. Exhale: Downward-facing dog -- make an upside down V with your body
5. Inhale: Jump through for the next pose (either to seated or standing)

I was in a minor car accident when I was younger, and because I'd hit my head the paramedics insisted on taking me to the hospital to get checked out. It was the only time I've ever been in an ambulance, and one of the things that stands out in my memory is the EMT putting the oxygen on my face and apparently trying to lighten the mood by smiling and saying "breathing this pure oxygen is totally going to give you a natural high."

Well it didn't give me a natural high, and according to this new research it may have actually done some damage instead. Testing shows that inhaling pure oxygen has exactly the opposite effect than intended: it triggers the release of hormones and chemicals that can potentially hurt the brain and heart, and that interfere with normal blood flow and oxygenation of vital organs. It seems a mix of carbon dioxide and oxygen proves to be much better, or even just plain old room air -- which they already use for patients in Europe. Who knew?