No one really wants to be embarrassed on their first date when their leaning in for a kiss, and their date says, "You need a Tic Tac!"

Here is one cause of bad breath: the sulfur compounds found in some foods like garlic bread, garlic, cabbage or onions. There are plenty other foods out there that make smelly breath; these are just a few examples.

When you're chewing your food, the digestive system absorbs these sulfur compounds. Those sulfur compounds then move from the digestive system into the bloodstream, then carried to the lungs. Next the lungs release those sulfur compounds from the body through the air we exhale. The sulfur compounds are also expelled when we sweat or when we go to the restroom.

Bad breath is also caused by the bacteria that live on your teeth and gums. This bacteria feasts on food particles left on your teeth, producing (VSC) volatile sulfur compounds. These compounds allow breath to have its ghastly odor. However, you don't want to get rid of the bacteria totally, because they help you digest food! They're a natural part of you, though you can have an imbalance, which isn't so healthy.

You're probably wondering, how do I get rid of this bad breath? Well, , you could always avoid the garlicky foods. But what if you love garlic bread or other Italian foods, like I do? Then here's another simple solution.

Brush your teeth and floss your teeth more than once a day. Brushing and flossing take away the bacteria and the food that bacteria feast on, so volatile sulfur compounds aren't created.

Brushing your teeth does not mean stroking a brush over your teeth once. It means heavy duty brushing for 2-3 minutes. You need to brush in little circles on the fronts of all your teeth, the backs, and the bottoms.

Very few people floss their teeth, which is really unfortunate for them. Not flossing causes bacteria build-up in the gaps of your teeth. You should floss and brush your teeth regularly to help eliminate that nasty odor, and keep your teeth standing for years to come.

Also make sure you brush your tongue! Brushing your tongue is necessary because odor causing bacteria hide deep in the crevices of the tongue. At home, I have a tongue cleaner you can buy at Wal-Mart. Tongue cleaners remove the bacteria off your tongue; but you don't have to go out and buy one! You can also brush your tongue well with your toothbrush.

To tell if you have cleaned your tongue well; look in the mirror and see if your tongue is pink or white. If your tongue is white, then you still have bacteria on your tongue; if it's pink, your tongue is nice and fresh.

Drinking lots of water is yet another way of removing bad breath, and it's good for your health and weight, too!

Other causes of bad breath include smoking. Or exercising a lot, like if you went out jogging, or if you were on the treadmill. Talking a lot dries up your mouth, causing bad odors, and some mouthwashes dry up your mouth, too. I know, it's hard to believe, but the alcohol in some mouthwashes causes bad breath.

If you want to know if you have bad breath, here are a couple of ways. Ask a relative or a friend to smell your breath for you and see if they think it's all right. They will probably be honest without judging you too much.

Now, some people may be uncomfortable with this, so another solution is to wipe near the middle of your tongue with a cotton ball, and then smell the cotton ball to see if there's a bad smell or fine smell.

If you're really concerned, you can actually go to your nearest dentist and have them use a halimeter on you. A halimeter is a device that has a tube you blow through -- it measures the amount of VSC in your breath. Halitosis is the medical condition of having bad breath. (Just because you have bad breath sometimes doesn't mean you have halitosis, though.)

I guess my Cosmo magazine was wrong, though. It told me to cup my hands and then blow into them and then smell. That never worked for me. Another way they told me was to lick my wrist and then wait three minutes, and then smell.

I hope I helped out with any potential bad breath problems that might have affected you in the future!

Stay fresh!
Snowgri13

Some of my sources include:
http://www.saveyoursmile.com/fb/fbtips.html
http://www.therabreath.com/art_badbreath.asp