Why You Have Heinous Bad Breath After Eating Dairy—and How to Fix It

Milk breath. Cheese mouth. The sour stench of worst-date nightmares. What the heck is this foul demon odor and how does one exorcise it?

First, you have to understand your enemy.

You probably don’t think about your mouth this way, but it’s technically part of your digestive tract. Chewing is only the first step of digestion.

“Imagine millions of bacteria feasting on particles of food and tissue in our mouth, some giving off smelly waste,” says David Krol, M.D., former chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Oral Health.



As those microbes work to digest milk solids (lactose, proteins, and lipids), they sometimes create excess hydrogen sulfide.

This is why, post-cheese, your mouth smells like a mound of rotten eggs.

So what can you do about it?

While you can’t eliminate the smell completely, you can control the aroma by targeting what Dr. Krol refers to as the biggest culprits: gram-negative bacteria.

This family of bacteria (which also includes E. coli and chlamydia, by the way) takes shelter below your gum line, between your gums and teeth, and between the grooves of your tongue.

Unfortunately for those who like to swish and spit, mouthwash doesn’t help the gram-negative bacteria situation—and can actually make it worse.

Mouthwash kills all bacteria (not just the stinky kind), which may lead to even worse breath.

To get rid of the gram-negative bacteria, Dr. Krol says to brush with a fluoridated toothpaste at least twice a day and, if you have particularly nasty exhalations, after every meal.

Make sure you’re brushing in the places the bacteria live and pick up an inexpensive tongue scraper too. Flossing also helps.

Basically, good oral hygiene can help fight milk breath.

The best news? You don’t have to give up eating cheese.
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Article source: http://www.menshealth.com/health/milk-and-cheese-breath