You may have heard about vegetarians and vegans having really smelly breath when they stop eating meat, is this true?
Vegetarians do not have bad breath in comparison to other diets. There are many reasons why a person may have foul breath besides their diet. A person’s overall lifestyle, hygiene,, and health are the major contributors to someone’s smelly breath.
Table of Contents
Does Being A Vegetarian Cause Bad Breath
Being a vegetarian does not cause a person to have bad breath. There are many different dietary and lifestyle factors that cause a person to have foul breath.
Can Your Diet Give You Bad Breath
Those that follow the low-carb or Keto diet are likely to develop bad breath.
The goal of a Keto or low-carb diet is for your body to break fat into ketosis, that process causes the ketones to be omitted through the person’s urine and salvia, giving the person smelly breath.
Can Your Diet Improve Your Bad Breath
Since some foods are known for causing bad breath and others are known for improving the smell of your breath one can assume that your diet can improve your bad breath as long as you do not have an underlying health condition that’s causing your foul breath.
- A high fiber diet has been proven to reduce the odor of your breath hours after consuming the high fiber foods.
Can Plant-Based Diets Improve How You Breath Smells
Some studies have shown that plant-based diets can have a positive effect on your overall oral health.
What Causes Bad Breath
The main causes of bad breath are habits, certain foods, and health conditions.
What Foods Can Give You Bad Breath
When food particles get stuck in between your teeth and start to break down it can cause a foul odor.
Some foods are more likely to cause bad breath.
- Garlic
- Onions
- Dairy
- Meat
- Fish
- Horseradish
- Citrus Fruits
- Pasta Sauce
- Peanut Butter
- Coffee
- Soda
- Alcohol
How Can Poor Hygeine Affect Your Mouth
If you are not doing a good enough job taking care of your teeth and mouth you are likely to leave behind particles of food in your mouth daily which, will increase the bad odor in your mouth.
Does Having A Dry Mouth Cause Bad Breath
Having a dry mouth especially at night can cause bad breath. Saliva helps clean out the mouth and aid in removing food particles. If your mouth is overly dry it decreases your production of salvia.
What Oral Conditions Can Cause Bad Breath
There are a variety of different oral conditions like tonsil stones, infections, chronic inflammation, and postnasal drip that can cause bad breath.
Can Medications Cause Bad Breath
Some medications can cause a dry mouth which in turn causes a reduction of saliva production increasing the odor of one’s breath.
Does Tabacco Use Cause Bad Breath
The use of tobacco products has been directly linked to an increase in bad breath.
Do Meat Eaters Have Bad Breath
Foods that are high in protein like meat and fish are more likely to get stuck between your teeth and attract the bacteria within your mouth that causes bad breath.
Do Vegans Have Bad Breath
Vegans are not any more likely to have bad breath compared to people who follow other diets.
Does A Vegetarians Breath Smell Worse Than A Meat Eaters
There are many different factors that determine if a person has bad breath. Everything from the foods they eat, dental hygiene, and lifestyle habits.
There are too many elements involved to determine who has the worst smelling breath.
Is There A Difference Between Bad Breath And Halitosis
Bad Breath and Halitosis are not the same things.
Bad Breath is a temporary condition that is often caused by a lack of hygiene (brushing and flossing), morning breath, and food stuck between the teeth.
You can easily correct bad breath by brushing, flossing, or getting good cleaning at the dentist.
Halitosis on the other hand is a health condition often caused by health conditions, serious tooth decay, poor dental hygiene over time, dry mouth, and tobacco use.
How To Prevent Your Breath From Smelling
- Drink Plenty Of Water
- Swish Water In You Mouth After Eating
- Suck On Sugar Free Mints Containing Xylitol
- Che Sugarless Gum
- Chew On Parsley
- Eat More High Fiber Vegetables
- Eat Foods High In Zinc (Tofu, Garbonzo Beans, Cashews)
- Avoid Foods High In Sulpher (Caulifower, Broccoli)
- Avoid Garlic
- Avoid Onions
- Avoid Coffee
- Try Mouth Tapping At Night
- Scrape Your Tongue
- Don’t Use Toothpaste Containing sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS)
- Cut Back On You Sugar Consumption
- Cut Back On Spicy Food
Final Thoughts
It’s funny how certain diets can get a bad rap as being the leading cause for bad breath.
Those diets including a vegetarian diet can contribute to foul breath but, there are too many other things that could be the cause of it to blame the vegetarian diet as the culprit.
I think we sometimes want certain diets to be the cause of negative things as an excuse to avoid that way of eating.
If vegetarian and vegan diets cause bad breath, there is no way people would want to follow them.
