There are a number of different causes for bad breath, including things that you eat or health conditions that you might have. One health condition that can cause bad breath is lactose intolerance. You may not realize that this; if you have unexplained bad breath, you might want to see if this is the cause.
Lactose Intolerance
Lactose intolerance is caused by a shortage of lactase, the enzyme that helps a person to digest the milk sugar lactose, in the body. Normally this enzyme is produced in the small intestine. Some people are genetically more likely to develop this problem, while others become lactose intolerant due to a secondary reason that causes damage to the intestine. This condition gets more common as people age since most children can tolerate milk well, says the National Digestive Diseases Clearninghouse.
Bad Breath
When a person is lactose intolerant, she does not have sufficient lactase to break down the lactose in the dairy products that she consumes. Normally, lactase would break lactose down in the small intestine into galactose and glucose, which would then be absorbed into the bloodstream. However, in the case of lactose intolerance, the lactose continues down the digestive tract to the large intestine, where bacteria break it down and produce a hydrogen-rich gas as a byproduct. This gas sometimes is released by the body through the breath, causing the person to have bad breath, says The Mayo Clinic.
Testing/Diagnosis
Sometimes, lactose intolerance can be diagnosed from the symptoms: gas, bloating, diarrhea, nausea and abdominal pain, which come within a few hours of eating products containing lactose. However, sometimes it is difficult to determine which health condition is causing these problems. One of the tests that can be used is the hydrogen breath test, which tests the levels of hydrogen in the breath after drinking a test dosage of a lactose-containing drink. If the levels are high, it is likely a case of lactose intolerance, since normally, levels of hydrogen are very low in the breath.
Prevention/Solution
There is no real cure for lactose intolerance. However, there are methods you can use to limit the symptoms that you have. In general, these include limiting products that contain lactose in your diet, and in more severe cases, eliminating these altogether from your diet. There are also special products that you can purchase that have the lactose already partly broken down, as well as lactase that you can purchase to add to your food to help break down the lactose it contains.
Considerations
Keep in mind that there are other conditions, such as celiac disease, that can have similar symptoms to lactose intolerance, so you should see your doctor to get an accurate diagnosis.
Also, most people with a lactose intolerance can tolerate some amount of lactose in their diet without discomfort. You can try eliminating all lactose-containing products from your diet and gradually adding them back to find the level that you can comfortably handle without symptoms.
Those who avoid all dairy products will need to make sure to get sufficient calcium from other sources, including leafy greens, fish with bones, almonds, and tofu.
