Get Oral Probiotics In Brisbane Probiotics are the name given to the good bacteria that live throughout your digestive tract. You’re probably aware that probiotic supplements can help with all kinds of digestive problems, but did you know that you can get specific oral probiotics formulated to keep your mouth healthy and even help combat bad breath? If you’re in Brisbane, you can now buy the world’s first probiotic developed to maintain a healthy mouth and throat.   Bad breath is caused by sulphur producing bacteria Only 1% of bad breath is due to food and diet; a whopping 90% is due to various factors that allow bad bacteria in your mouth to proliferate and produce the volatile sulphur compounds that are responsible for bad breath.   Healthy mouth bacteria A healthy mouth should be populated with abundant numbers of the oral probiotic bacteria, Streptococcus salivarius. Poor oral hygiene, alcohol, antibiotics, sugar, antibacterial mouthwashes and other factors all result in lower levels of these good bacteria, allowing sulphur producing bacteria to flourish and cause bad breath. For reasons that doctors and researchers still can’t figure out, some people can do all the right things to keep their mouth healthy and clean but still have low levels of healthy bacteria and suffer bad breath as a result. In other words, some people are naturally blessed with high levels of healthy bacteria in their mouth.  So if you’re diligent with your dental care but still battle bad breath, an oral probiotic will help.   Streptococcus salivarius K12 and BLIS Oral probiotics containing the bacteria Streptococcus salivarius K12 have been developed at The University of Otago, New Zealand by Professor John Tagg. Professor Tagg first discovered this treatment while looking for protective bacteria in the saliva of children who seemed resistant to developing throat infections. Oral probiotics were born when he noticed that this particular strain of bacteria produced antimicrobial substances that reduced numbers of bad bacteria in the mouth and throat. These antimicrobial substances were called BLIS and he termed the phrase BLIS K12 to describe Streptococcus salivarius K12.   How oral probiotics work to keep your breath fresh Oral probiotics that contain Streptococcus salivarius K12 work in two ways to keep down the levels of bad breath bacteria. 1.      They crowd out the bad bacteria, and 2.      They produce BLIS, bacteriocin like inhibitory substances, which attack and kill bad breath bacteria by rupturing their cell wall. BLIS also prevents them from being able to reproduce.   Oral probiotics for a healthy mouth and throat The world’s first oral probiotics containing BLISK12, designed specifically to combat bad breath and promote a healthier mouth and throat, are now available in Brisbane at...

Alcohol Causes Bad Breath But Not For The Reasons You Think   Most people are familiar with ‘hangover halitosis’, the seriously nasty alcohol breath that occurs after a prolonged session on the booze. But even if you’re not a big binge drinker, alcohol could be contributing to your bad breath problem. You probably associate alcohol breath with either a hangover or the short term lingering effects of beer or wine breath, but it’s far more insidious than this. Alcohol and other lifestyle choices cause bad breath by promoting the growth of bacteria in your mouth that produce some decidedly unpleasant aromas.   Bacterial balance is the key to fresh breath By far the biggest contributor to the daily battle with bad breath is the volatile sulphur compounds produced by certain bacteria in your mouth. The levels of these bacteria determine the degree of bad breath you experience.  Volatile sulphur compounds are the same substances responsible for the smell of rotten eggs. These halitosis-inducing bacteria should be kept in check by both good bacteria and substances in your saliva. Some people are lucky and are born with naturally high levels of good bacteria, which helps to keep bad breath in check.  But your diet and lifestyle go a long way to influencing the type of bacteria that make their home in your mouth.   Alcohol promotes bad bacteria in your mouth Alcohol dries out and dehydrates your mouth, allowing bad breath bacteria to thrive. These bacteria LOVE a dry mouth without any saliva to suppress their furtive antisocial activities.  Even certain alcohol-containing mouthwashes can have the same effect as drinking wine, beer and spirits and contribute to alcohol breath If you’re drinking alcohol on a regular basis it will change the balance of bacteria in your mouth no matter how diligent you are with brushing and flossing.   Other foods and drinks that upset the bacterial balance Other foods and drinks that create bad breath by encouraging the growth of bacteria include: ·         Caffeine in energy drinks, coffee and tea; ·         Sugar; ·         Acidic foods such as coffee, tomato juice, citrus, pickles, tomato sauce or soft drinks; and ·         Dense protein foods such as cheese, meat, eggs, protein powder, protein bars and fish.   Ways to protect your mouth from alcohol breath Drinking plenty of water to keep your mouth and body as hydrated as possible can help to offset the drying effects of alcohol. Aim to drink a glass or two of water between each alcoholic drink to help minimise alcohol breath.  Make sure it’s just plain old pure water as sugary soft drinks will only make your bad breath worse. Other steps you can take to help keep...

Bad Breath Foods: Top 5 Kiss Killing Foods You’re on a hot date with the person of your dreams. They tick every box, but as they move in to get up close and personal the spell is broken. Hello halitosis! Don’t let bad breath ruin your love life. Here are the top 5 kiss killing foods to avoid before your next date.  Ditch these bad breath foods for a sweet, fresh smooch.   Garlic There is good reason that garlic is associated with repelling vampires, helping to protect you from the kiss of death in the middle of the night. It’s also renowned at being a remarkably effective repellent against kisses of a more amorous nature too.   Even a quick peck on the cheek by someone who’s sporting serious garlic breath can leave you feeling violated. No matter how hard or how many times you brush your teeth after eating garlic you simply cannot brush the smell away. It’s like a bad breath tattoo inside your mouth.  Garlic ranks as the number one kiss killing food as it offers up a double whammy in the bad breath food department. Sulphur compounds found in garlic are absorbed from your digestive system and then excreted through your lungs producing the unmistakable aroma of garlic breath. One of the sulphur containing chemicals found in garlic, allyl methyl sulfide, persists in the body for many hours producing bad breath that can last for days. Raw onions Onions contain allin, also found in their bad breath food cousin, garlic, which turns into propenyl sulfenic acid when onion is cut or chewed. Propenyl sulfenic acid is responsible for the bad breath gift that just keeps giving and giving.  No amount of mint, toothpaste or mouthwash is going to remove the eye watering aroma of raw onion from your breath. So, skip the onion in your salad or sandwich unless you’re planning on giving your relationship the kiss of death. Coffee Coffee ranks number 3 on the list of bad breath foods as the acids in coffee produce an environment in your mouth responsible for creating a merciless ming, guaranteed to stop a kiss in its tracks. It’s a cruel twist that something that smells so good while being sipped from a cup can produce such bad breath. Coffee helps the pong producing bacteria in your mouth take over. These bad breath bacteria love the acidic environment produced by coffee and reproduce much faster.  Chemicals in saliva normally help to keep their levels low, but caffeine decreases saliva, drying your mouth out and allowing these bacteria to produce cringe-worthy breath. Tuna The omega 3 fatty acids in tuna may be great for your heart, your skin...