A high protein diet is used by many different types of people including people who are interested in weight loss and people who are into muscle building. This may be a contradiction in terms, but for both sets of people, the diet may be high protein, though still different. The only thing they have in common is bad breath which is caused by the high protein diet.
If you are on a special diet tailored to your specific requirements, you would ideally need to be under the supervision of a dietitian, nutritionist or doctor. But a great many people just go it alone for various reasons. That is why you need to be all the more careful when undertaking a diet plan which you may have just read or heard about.
If you are suffering from bad breath caused by the high protein diet, you need to know that your diet is actually not in balance. Even though a high protein diet is structured so that you can lose weight quickly, it should also maintain all bodily functions in an optimum manner.
Unfortunately, a high protein diet often causes bad breath because of the increase in ketones in the blood and urine. This is a by-product of the high protein diet and ketones are produced when the body burns fat instead of carbohydrates which are restricted or eliminated in a high protein diet. Ketones cause a foul odor in the blood, urine and even perspiration, so a person on a high protein diet is prone to smelling bad.
Is there a Remedy for Bad Breath caused by a High Protein Diet?
There is a very simple remedy for this problem. On a high protein diet, most people’s meals will lay greater emphasis on meats and sea foods. But there are vegetarian sources of protein as well and these vegetarian substitutes or additions will usually also have a decent amount of carbohydrates as well.
Most kinds of beans and lentils are good sources of protein and they also contain carbohydrates which the body will use as fuel in addition to the fat it burns. If you go out in the sun or use a sauna, this will also help in dispelling the ketones formed in the way of perspiration. Keeping your body well hydrated by drinking lots of water will dilute the ketones in the urine.
However, you have to very careful when you are on a high protein diet, especially if you are not under any health care provider. Diet and weight loss are specialized fields and it is a person who specializes in these fields who can help you the most. After all you do not want to find out that the bad breath or malodorous urine is caused not by the high protein diet, but by diabetes which can cause the same symptoms?
There may be people with undiagnosed diabetes or people whose diabetes is not under control who would be particularly at risk. This can escalate to a life-threatening situation, so it is vital to get to a doctor in the very least to eliminate this possibility. Temporary cures for bad breath are all very well, chronic halitosis is better treated by a medical professional.