Yogurt for bad breath? From the HSI e-Alert

Yogurt Tic-Tacs anyone?

A Japanese study suggests that bad breath may be reduced by eating a little yogurt every day - if it's the right kind of yogurt.

Researchers at Tsurumi University (TU) in Yokohama started their study by instructing 24 subjects with halitosis to avoid eating yogurt and any other foods with living cultures for two weeks. For the following six weeks all subjects ate 45 grams of yogurt (about two ounces) twice daily: once between breakfast and lunch, and again between lunch and dinner.

At the end of the trial 80 percent of the saliva samples collected were found to have lower levels of sulfide compounds (which can cause halitosis) compared to saliva samples taken at the outset of the study. Subjects also considerably reduced plaque and gingivitis. The mechanism that creates these benefits is unknown, but the results complement another study that found a lower risk of cavities among people who regularly eat yogurt.

The yogurt used in the TU study was sugar-free and fermented with living lactobacilli and streptococci cultures. At the International Association for Dental Research annual meeting, the TU team noted that yogurt made with sugar or without the living cultures would not produce the same beneficial effects.

These benefits can only be expected in cases where bad breath is related to dental conditions. Halitosis can also be caused by sinus or lung infections and even cirrhosis of the liver.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute

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