Hello there,

A pretty big observation and revelation..

Before I started on the bsd, one of my biggest worries was bad breath when the ketosis phase and fat burning kicked in. I searched Google and it seemed inevitable that no matter what you did, it was an inevitable fact that you would get halitosis.. badly. I read horror story after horror story about how those on very low or no carb diets had become social pariahs.

In anxious preparation I went to my local newsagents and spent almost £20 on chewing gum (sugar free of course), mouthwash and breath fresheners (I can recommend an excellent brand btw).
I also prepared myself for turning down social events over the next 8-weeks, including meeting up with friends – all because of my breath paranoia.

The story so far is that I am almost 2 weeks into the bsd, ketosis and weight loss (10lbs so far) has definitely kicked in, and…. I have never had such fresh breath .. EVER! Literally no trace of the gorilla, dragon, dog, cat or ANY rancid-breathed creature, just fresh, pure and lovely breath. Even after the veggie curry there is no trace of any of the ingredients I used.

I have not needed even one stick of the chewing gum I bought or one squirt of breath freshener ,and I can talk to people and breathe heavily into their faces while standing just a few inches from them. Ok, I don’t really do this but I’m sure you get my point.

I can only put this down to the fantastic meal plans that have been devised, and also drinking lots and lots of water every day to flush everything through.

Finally, I wonder if a high sugar snd high-carb diet are responsible for bad breath. I know my mouth hasn’t been this fresh – ever. And, dare I say it, even ‘morning breath’ now seems to be a thing of the past.

I hope this post hasn’t been too disgusting and gross.

I would be so interested to hear from others whether they have had a similar experience.

Hi,

I’ve not encountered this yet, BUT, on Penny’s recommendation in the useful links thread, i read just this morning the book called Low Carb Problems Solved by Jenny Ruhl, It’s about £3 on Kindle.

It tells you all about the why’s and what to do in there – along with lots of other useful info.

I’ll type that bit of the book for you.

It’s attributed to the fact that people eating very low carb diets are burning ketones some of which are eliminated via the lungs. Dieters believe it’s something they have to learn to live with. Wrong (I’m paraphrasing a bit here).

Some people advocate drinking more water or use breath mints or brushing your teeth. None of those things will work because it comes from your lungs not your mouth.

That supposed ketobreath is not coming from burning fat. It’s almost always from eating too much protein. Low carb dieters tend to overdo the protein than what it should be which is a high fat diet.

If you detect also a strong ammonia smell in your urine, this is a sign too.

So she says what needs to be done is cut down on the protein a bit.

Hmmm, interesting. I’m wondering if I’m eating too much protein anyway, and this seems like a good reason to re-evaluate that.

Interesting. I wonder whether this has been considered and the meal plans have been carefully constructed to provide the minimum carbs through vegetables etc, so ketobreath is reduced, or even, eliminated altogether.

I know this has been a big problem on Atkins.

Had no idea it came from the lungs!