Get Rid of Keto Breath with SmartMouth

Link between ketosis and bad breath

Did you know that there is a connection between certain diets and bad breath? And no, this isn’t just referring to eating lots of onions and garlic!

Low-carb, high-protein or high-fat diets, like the Keto, Paleo, South Beach, and Atkins diets, can actually cause bad breath. This foul smelling breath problem is referred to as Keto Breath in many communities.  Diets that put the body in ketosis, while excellent for losing weight, may leave your mouth with an offensive taste and odor.

Why Do Ketogenic Diets Cause Bad Breath?

There are two main reasons why a low-carb, high-protein diet causes bad breath:

1. Volatile Sulfur Compounds (Sulfur gases):
There are billions of bacteria living in your mouth at any given moment.  These bacteria consume protein from the foods you eat and produce sulfur gas, or bad breath, as a waste product.  By eating high protein foods and fewer carbs, you are introducing more protein for bacteria to eat and this allows them to produce exponentially more sulfur gas, i.e. keto breath.

2. Ketosis
The main goal of ketogenic diets is to minimize the consumption of carbohydrates by replacing them with healthy fats and proteins. This method is commonly used in order to achieve timely weight loss. Typically, the body uses glucose from carbohydrates as a source of energy. However, on very low-carb diets, the body is instead forced to burn fat for energy. This burning of fat is known as ketosis and produces ketones that are expelled from the body through urine or exhalation.  In excessive amounts these ketones can produce a foul smell and create ketosis, bad breath, or keto breath.

How Do I Stop Keto Breath?

Luckily, there are multiple measures you can take to help prevent keto breath while on low-carb/high-fat and high-protein diets.

1. Drink Water
Although it sounds simple, sipping on water throughout the day is somewhat useful in helping to preventing bad breath.  Keeping your mouth moisturized will help wash out excess food particles that bacteria would otherwise use to create sulfur gas.

2. Proper Oral Care
Like drinking water, regularly brushing your teeth and flossing will help remove excess food particles from your mouth and will help prevent bad breath caused by sulfur gas production.  In addition, using SmartMouth Oral Rinse is an excellent way to prevent bad breath caused by keto diets.  SmartMouth is specially formulated to block the bacteria’s protein receptors, depriving them of the protein they need to produce sulfur gas. In other words: no sulfur gas = no bad breath! SmartMouth’s patented dual-liquid technology eliminates* existing bad breath AND blocks the return of bad breath for 12 full hours per rinse.
While ketosis breath is the unfortunate side effect of a keto diet, it commonly only lasts for a matter of weeks. In the meantime, regularly sipping on water, brushing and flossing your teeth, and using SmartMouth Mouthwash can help reduce the ketosis breath you are experiencing.  Happy dieting!