Foods that Cause Bad Breath

Every one of us does not like having an unpleasant smell emanating in our body, particularly in our mouth. However, we fall victim to bad breath in one way or another (see Causes of Bad Breath). One of the causes of bad breath that can be easily addressed is food.

Some foods contain chemicals that get into the blood stream and consequently cause bad breath. Others have naturally an unpleasant odor when chewed and digested in the mouth. So what foods must be regulated, if not avoided, in order to have fresh breath? Here are the foods that cause bad breath:

Garlic and onions. Examples of these foods are onions and garlic. When chewed, they create a very foul odor. They also contain sulfur compounds that ferment and result in terribly bad breath. Garlic in particular has odorous compounds including diallyl disulfide, allyl methyl disulfide, allyl mercaptan and allyl methyl sulfide.




Sugary foods. Because of the small components of this food, enzymes have an easier time breaking the substances down and therefore letting the bacteria dwell and consume the remnants of the food. These bacteria will therefore cause halitosis if they stayed inside the mouth for a prolonged period. In addition, the frightening part is that other bacteria can take the sugars and produce glycan strands, which in turn end up causing thick layers of plaque on the enamel of your teeth and around your gums. This leads to tooth decay and gum disease - and you guessed it - worse breath than you started with! When eating sugary food, be sure to brush your teeth after or at least give your mouth a good rinsing. Avoid breath mints and chewing gum that contains sugar as those will do more harm than good. Also lay off of the sugary drinks such as soda pop, coffee, and others.

Read the rest of "Foods that Causes Bad Breath".

Image courtesy of PLOS.org.

What are Happy Numbers?

 

They don’t smile when you say cheese. They don’t laugh at your jokes. And certainly, they don’t strike wacky poses. But one thing for sure, you will smile once you hear their name… For they are the HAPPY NUMBERS!

Crocodiles Can Climb Trees

In a mouth-gaping result of a study by Vladimir Dinets and his team, it was found out that certain species of crocodile can climb trees. You heard it right, crocodiles can indeed climb and perch on the limbs of trees.

In a report called as Herpetology Notes, four species of crocodiles were identified as able to climb trees. Some were spotted to have climb up to 13 feet above the ground, and as far as 16 feet down a branch.

Well, doesn’t that you give you chills? Crocodiles are already dangerous wading in the waters, what more can they do from up above the trees? Just imagine….

Furthermore, Dinets and his colleagues also observed that smaller crocodilians were able to climb higher and further than the larger ones. "Climbing a steep hill or steep branch is mechanically similar, assuming the branch is wide enough to walk on," the authors wrote. "Still, the ability to climb vertically is a measure of crocodiles' spectacular agility on land."






This tree climbing and basking habit is believed to be due to two reasons: thermoregulation and surveillance of habitat. Usually, crocodile species with this ability are found in areas where there is less ground to bask on, which urges these animals to find alternatives to regulate their body temperature. In a way, this also improves surveillance of both threats and prey.

More of these crocodile facts can be found in Dinets’ “Herpetology Notes” and his book called “Dragon Songs”. Vladimir Dinets is a research assistant professor in the Department of Psychology in the University of Tennessee.

Sources:

Yahoo News

e! Science News