Help with Bad Breath!!!

[Knipfty]

I've been doing PP since Mar 17. The results so far have been positive except for bad (awful) breath. My wife is complaining very loudly.:mad::mad::mad:

Does anyone have any suggestions? It's really bothering those around me.

Thanks

[Viking Dan]

Drink crazy amounts of water. Like...a gallon.

[Knipfty]

Interesting :eek:

I noticed that I drank significantly less water on the weekend then during the week. I am drinking 24 oz of H20 right now and will try to get a gallon in before bedtime. Thanks

Anyone else have any other ideas?

[Bellgirl]

Knipfty, what's a typical menu for you these days? Are you eating other things besides protein? Any fruits and veggies?

[Knipfty]

Yes I'm getting veggies (String beans, Peppers, onions, asparagus, salad). Something everyday mostly at dinner and sometimes at lunch.

As for fruits, it's completely hit or miss (mostly miss). I get in some grapes and am waiting for cheeries to come into season. This weekend I will be making the paleolithic punch for the first time. If that goes well, I will be adding fruits more often (I am not a berry fan). The other fruits I do like are too high in carbs.

Why?

[Mitra]

When your body is breaking down fat and carb levels are low, ketones are produced. Some of them will be burned as fuel, and the body gets rid of the excess, mainly in urine, but also in stools, and in the breath. You can reduce the effect on your breath by:

increasing your carb levels just a little;
exercising more to burn them up;
drinking lots of water to carry away more ketones in your urine.It tends to go away as your body adapts, and is usually only a problem in the earlier stages of eating low carb.

(This is a summary of the information on the subject in Staying Power.)

[Knipfty]

Mitra,

If I turn this on its head, I'm right where I want to be. So I will increase my water intake, and excercise more before increasing my carbs. I'm actually very happy then with my "problem".

Thanks

[Gaelen]

Umm...just one other little thing. ;)
While bad breath issues do come up if people keep their carb levels really low, do make sure that there is no dental reason that your breath could suddenly be channelling a sewage treatment plant. Sudden onset bad breath that persists after you up your water intake and increase your carbs to include more healthy greens and low carb fruits (try melon if you don't like berries!) can also be a sign of an underlying, low grade gum/tooth inflammation. And those are never good things...

[Knipfty]

Gaelen,

Thanks for the advice. It just so happens that I had a dental check up just 10 days ago! :D:D:D

Everything checked just find and had my teeth cleaned while I was there. So I believe that base is covered.

Thanks again