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Fasting and bad breathWhat is the meaning of the word Fasting?

In Hebrew the word sum means “to cover”, and in Greek the word nesteuo means “to abstain”. For spiritual purposes fasting means to go without food or drink.

What is Fasting?

Fasting has everything to do with your spirituality. It is like an agreement between you and your higher power. Instead of eating and drinking you rather spend that time praying or meditating. Fasting can be as short at one meal or as long as a few weeks. It can begin at sunrise and end at sunset or it can even be extended over 24 hours per day. It is a very personal issue and it is up to you how long you wish to fast for.

Halitosis and fasting

Fasting has been around sense the beginning of time, and is practised by most religions around the world. And alongside the practice of fasting is the nasty side effect called Halitosis or more commonly known as bad breath. Halitosis is devastating to your self confidence because people tend to shy away from you if you come to close to them with a breath that reeks. During the fasting period, going hungry and drinking minimally or not at all, causes your body to produce less saliva. Saliva is very necessary to help wash away the bacteria in our mouths. The saliva layer also helps any odours from escaping out of the mouth. Basically our saliva is natures very own mouthwash. So when you fast you do not have the bacteria fighting moisture that saliva produces. This can cause billions of extra bacteria to breed in your mouth without any protection. Bad breath then being the end result.

How do you reduce bad breath while fasting?

Your daily Oral Hygiene routine should start by brushing your teeth for at least 2 minutes, twice a day with Therabreath Toothpaste . Scraping your tongue gently with a tongue scraper. Make sure you try to scrape as far back as possible without gagging. You need to rinse your mouth out with Therabreath oral rinses specially formulated to combat the cause of bad breath. Lastly but not least gently floss in between your teeth to remove any excess food waste that might have got stuck.