Here's is a list of foods that freshens your breath

1. Water! Water! Water!: Water is a quick and an easily accessible remedy for rapidly making that breath fresh. And it is a simple tip to follow. Just swish and swirl some water in the mouth as if you are gargling ( but softly, not loudly) and drink it up or rinse it out. The logic behind doing this is when we get dehydrated, the saliva generated in our mouth automatically decreases. This is because our body tries to conserve moisture. Saliva tends to clean our mouth by diluting the bacteria. Bacteria and their by-products are responsible for that offensive bad breath or that a person might have. Therefore rinsing the mouth with water clears out these odour generating bacteria. Water is a short term but a super fast way of freshening up breath in a jiffy.

2. Oranges, sweet lime, lemons, kiwis, and all citrus fruits rich in Vitamin C: These help in keeping the breath fresh. Vitamin C is known to fight the bacteria. It is also an antioxidant - thus it helps in reducing the toxins in the body, this includes those produced by the bacteria in the mouth. You may have these fruits as whole or even drink up or sip on their juices.

3. Spices and herbs: These are super amazing at keeping the breath free of any malodour for a good period of time. Examples are cardamom (elaichi), fennel (saunf), spear mint, parsley, rosemary, eucalyptus, coriander (dhania daal),cinnamon( dal chini), cloves(laung) etc. From amongst these, the following are favorites with most folks -

Cardamom and Eucalyptus both contain a substance called cineole. Cineole has antibacterial, antiseptic properties and thus attacks the stinker bacteria in the mouth. With these harbingers of foul smell gone for good, the mouth feels and smells fresh. Cardamom seeds can be kept as such in the mouth and biting into them intermittently to release that typical delicate flavor and aroma of elaichi which most of us tend to like.

Parsley and coriander: These are rich in the green pigment chlorophyll which because of it's alkaline properties cleanses the body in a generic sense. It attacks the bacteria of the mouth thus rendering them ineffective. Chlorophyll also possesses detoxifying ability.

Cinnamon (dal chini): The essential oil present in cinnamon is antiseptic and kills the germs giving rise to bad breath.

Fennel seed (saunf) is an age old Indian remedy to keep the mouth fresh and the breath smelling sweet. Fennel is known to possess aromatic and medicinal properties.

4. Probiotics: Probiotics such as yogurt rid mouth of hydrogen sulphide. For instance Lactobacillus salivarius also helps in case of dental and gum related problems. It enables healing of the sores in mouth. Gum and teeth related conditions make the oral environment conducive to bacterial growth which in turn makes the breath smell lousy. Probiotics thus help those with bad breath.

5. Veggie land: Broccoli, carrots and cucumber are known to keep the mouth fresh by diminishing the bacterial content of the mouth. Chewing onto them floods the mouth with saliva.

6. Apples: When we crunch on to an apple, salivary secretion gets stimulated. This literally bathes the mouth and rinses out the odour generating bacteria in mouth thereby making the breath fresh.

7. Chewing gum: This also increases the secretion of saliva. Chewing gum helps in dislodging the stuck up food particles in the mouth. This prevents stink formation. Sugar free xylitol containing chewing gum is better than the sugared one.

8. Whole wheat bread: Consuming this prevents formation of ketones which otherwise get generated on a low carb diet. Ketones are secreted in urine, sweat and mouth and give a typical foul smell to the breath. Eating whole wheat bread helps checking ketones and in keeping the breath fresh.

9. Green tea: Green tea is rich in flavonoids. These reduce and prevent the adhesion of stink causing germs to the teeth. Cinnamon tea is in particular helpful in keeping the mouth and breath fresh.

10. Fibre: Fibre cleans the gut. One of the chief reasons of bad breath is poor sluggish unclean gut than the mouth. Fibre increases the fitness of the digestive tract. This prevents bad breath and helps in keeping the breath fresh. Target consuming 25 -38 gms of fibre everyday to enable this.

(Inputs courtesy: Dr Amrapali Patil)