Very Bad Breath / Halitosis

[TeknoLen]

My dear wife informs me that I have developed some wicked bad breath. It seems to have started around the time I went strict gluten-free on Dec 1, 2011. I am also casein-free and soy-free and at the moment I am also avoiding eggs, pork, almonds, cashews and nightshades. Celiac test was not conclusive but I am convinced I am gluten sensitive and that the sensitivity is possibly a contributing factor to my thyroid auto-immune condition. I would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions on the halitosis. Here are some data points.

I eat a paleo diet. It seemed like less psychological trauma to think about what I could eat rather than what I could not eat. I start the day with a probiotic first thing at 6am on an empty stomach, rotating between Custom CP-1 or Culturelle or Integrative Therapeutics Pearl. I also take a levothyroxine at this time for thyroid and 5,000 IU of D3 drops for my low vitamin D level. I wash it down with a glass of water with added juice from 1 lemon and 1 lime. Typical breakfast at 7am is approx. 6 oz portion of meat, either fish, beef, turkey, veal liver or chicken leftover from the night before. Today was liver. I also eat a ton of vegetables with breakfast (and every meal) for the nutrients and to help offset the acid-forming nature of the protein. This morning was a whole bunch of steamed kale, other mornings is roasted brussels sprouts/red onion/garlic/olive oil. I also ate some dry romaine lettuce while preparing breakfast. Most mornings I have a teaspoon of quality apple cider vinegar and a digestive enzyme. I also take 400 mg of magnesium oxide. I have a cup of herbal tea most mornings at about 9am, alternating daily between St. John

[SallyC]

My first thought is an overgrowth of candida yeast. I suggest you do some research on that as well as trying broken cell chlorella.

My dear wife informs me that I have developed some wicked bad breath. It seems to have started around the time I went strict gluten-free on Dec 1, 2011. I am also casein-free and soy-free and at the moment I am also avoiding eggs, pork, almonds, cashews and nightshades. Celiac test was not conclusive but I am convinced I am gluten sensitive and that the sensitivity is possibly a contributing factor to my thyroid auto-immune condition. I would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions on the halitosis. Here are some data points.

I eat a paleo diet. It seemed like less psychological trauma to think about what I could eat rather than what I could not eat. I start the day with a probiotic first thing at 6am on an empty stomach, rotating between Custom CP-1 or Culturelle or Integrative Therapeutics Pearl. I also take a levothyroxine at this time for thyroid and 5,000 IU of D3 drops for my low vitamin D level. I wash it down with a glass of water with added juice from 1 lemon and 1 lime. Typical breakfast at 7am is approx. 6 oz portion of meat, either fish, beef, turkey, veal liver or chicken leftover from the night before. Today was liver. I also eat a ton of vegetables with breakfast (and every meal) for the nutrients and to help offset the acid-forming nature of the protein. This morning was a whole bunch of steamed kale, other mornings is roasted brussels sprouts/red onion/garlic/olive oil. I also ate some dry romaine lettuce while preparing breakfast. Most mornings I have a teaspoon of quality apple cider vinegar and a digestive enzyme. I also take 400 mg of magnesium oxide. I have a cup of herbal tea most mornings at about 9am, alternating daily between St. John

[cavernio]

Is it from your mouth or you stomach? One test might be to lick your hand and then smell it, or get your wife to smell it, hah, since she's the person who can do a real comparison of the 2 smells. If your hand smells the same as your bad breath, I would just try to do/different better oral care.

Are you sure you didn't say, change toothpastes around that time? Stocking stuffer toothpaste or something? There's often ingredients in one toothpaste that might offset your bad breath. For instance, when my bf uses any of that colgate toothpaste with mouthwash in it is, oddly, when his breath is the worst.

I also hear that sodium lauryl sulfate (also goes by some other names, do a google search) in toothpaste can cause bad breath, but that it's also very common in most toothpastes. Perhaps this new diet is simply changing your mouth microflora which is only NOW reacting poorly to your toothpaste or mouthwash.

In any case, I would definitely try changing up your oral care before changing your diet. Get a new toothbrush, splurge on a 'natural' toothpaste or something. Also as your dentist at your next appointment about it.

Does your breath smell like catfood at all? Catfood smells like liver and you listed that as a food you eat regularly.

[TeknoLen]

SallyC, thank you for the suggestion. Frankly, I have been in denial about that possibility, not wanting to admit I might have yet another fairly complicated/serious issue to contend with. I will study up..

cavernio, I had not explored the stomach versus mouth angle yet. I just did the back-of-the-hand test on myself and while my breath was not minty-fresh, I did not notice it being stop-a-rhinoceros toxic like she describes either. That would seem to indicate stomach in origin.. I will ask my wife to give me her evaluation when I get home from work, I expect the initial look on her face to be priceless! As for toothpaste, I have been using Tom's of Maine for quite some time now, the type with no fluoride, but I think it does have SLS. I think my wife is using Jason's PowerSmile which I think is without SLS so I might give that a try. Not sure about the catfood smell, my wife has not used that description but I will ask her. Thank you for the insight.

[pricklypear1971]

Some of the stuff you're eating can make for nasty burps, at least.

Can you handle mint? Make some mint water (just put mint in your water) and drink. It may help.

I use Weleda salt toothpaste and it's great. I like something that gets the hair off my teeth and tongue and it does the trick.

[cavernio]

Also keep in mind that your wife might have a very sensitive nose. I mean, obviously it sucks if she finds you stinky, but take heart that it might not be an issue for everyone around you.

[TeknoLen]

pricklypear, I have never tried mint. I do drink lemon balm tea (melissa officinalis) occasionally, which I think is a member of the mint family, and have not noticed a problem with it. I will pick up some mint leaves next time I am at the grocery store and see how well I handle it. Never heard of weleda, I just found it online but I am going to see if my local health food store carries it before I order online. Thanks for the suggestions!