Breath freshness in the morning

Did you know that you breath is an indicator of good health or healthy eating? It's true! I have no studies to back this up other than through my own experience. I'm sure I could do a little research, but for now, I'm just going to share what I've found.

First of all, it's not only breath that tells the tale. The smell of our sweat and hair can reflect our health too. When I was younger, my mom would tell me that my hair smelled bad when I had a viral infection. When my 9 year old daughter gets sick, her hair smells awful too. With sweat, I've noticed that people who are more out of shape (less in shape?) smell worse when they sweat (and so do men over all, but I'm not sure that has anything to do with their health -- maybe it does though. It would be interesting to see if that has to do with meat consumption -- do a test between vegan men and those who often eat animal products).

But getting back to breath, I've always hated the taste of morning breath. When I'm sick or on medication, it's even worse. I attribute the medicative breath to toxicity. Once I was on a heavy duty antibiotic. I had a post-surgical infection and the first 2 antibiotics did nothing. The 3rd came in and saved the day, but I could taste it on my lips. Oooh, it was awful, especially in the morning. It reminded me of how I can taste chemicals on my lips after using fingernail polish remover. That stuff is bad, bad, bad for your body.

When I first noticed I could improve my breath through my eating, it was when I started eating raw foods (either all raw or pretty well near). I'd wake up each day not just with the absence of bad breath, but with an actual sweet taste in my mouth. It was amazing. When I'm eating more cooked foods more along the lines of Eat to Live, like now, the taste in my mouth is good in the morning, but not sweet like when I'm eating raw.

I see a big change in my breath every time I eat animal foods, mostly now that's when I eat eggs. Whenever I've slipped and have had some dairy, my breath gets really bad. Same with meat. I haven't had any meat in awhile though, so that memory isn't as fresh (sorry for the pun). It takes a few days of me eating whole plant foods to get my good breath back.

When I was sick a month or so ago, my breath was just awful. My grandma used to say "My mouth tastes like the bottom of a bird cage" and that memory came back loud and clear. When I was not getting better after a few weeks of misery and went on antibiotics (kicking and screaming -- I would have much rather my ear infections cleared up on their own, but they were painful and I couldn't hear a thing), I noticed a new bad taste took place of the old one. It was so nice to get better, off the medication and feel that good taste when I woke up again.

Try it for yourself. Observe your own morning breath, tweak your eating, and hopefully you can have some sweet breath to enjoy with each start to your day. I'd love to hear how it is for you -- if your results are similar to mine.