HOUSTON – Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and if your love life stinks, your breath could be to blame!
The “Bad Breath Guru,” Dr. Harold Katz knows so much about Halitosis that he even has his own line of products to help combat it.
Not sure if you have bad breath? He has a solution for that too!
“The way to test your breath is lick the back of your hand, let it dry off a couple seconds and then sniff that.”
Dr. Katz also has a machine that can give you a more accurate reading of just how bad (or good) your breath is.
“I got ahold of this machine which measures the amount of sulfur in your breath. And it turns out that the bacteria that live in the back of your tongue, throat and tonsils produce what are called volatile sulfur compounds.”
The machine is called a Halimeter, and if the reading is above 100 the person has bad breath.
So, how did Derrick and Courtney do?
Derrick scored a 49, and Courtney did even better, scoring a 23.
If you want to banish bad breath for good, Dr. Katz shares common causes, which foods to avoid and easy ways to prevent it.
COMMON CAUSES OF BAD BREATH
- Dry mouth
- Alcohol
- Medications
- Gum Disease
- Dairy
- Large tonsils
- A rough tongue
- Smoking
FOODS THAT GIVE YOU BAD BREATH
- Onions
- Garlic
- Curry
- Excessive alcohol
- Milk chocolate
HOW TO PREVENT BAD BREATH
- Stay hydrated!
- Eat fruits and vegetables that contain a lot of liquid, like apples, grapes, blueberries and celery
- Look for oral products that DO NOT contain alcohol, sugar or drying detergents
For samples of TheraBreath, and to connect with Dr. Katz, click here.