Even though onion breath is harmless to your health, it can quickly put an end to a conversation and affect how other people treat you and react to you. It seems a trivial thing, yet it’s often a cause of embarrassment and discomfort.
Today we’ll review some useful tips on how you can get rid of onion breath.
Why we love onions
Onion is a popular ingredient, present in most cuisines around the world. It is a great source of folic acid and vitamins B and C, essential for our health and normal function. Furthermore, recent discoveries only serve to increase the value of onions to human health. They will increase your bone density and even act preventively against cancer. All of this while adding only 45 calories per serving – amazing!
For all their benefits, onions still get a bad rap and it’s the sulfurous compounds in onions that are responsible. When raw onion is digested, the odor molecules reach the lungs via the bloodstream, and give rise to the foul onion breath when you exhale. That nasty onion smell can linger in the mouth for quite a while.
So what can we do? Exclude onion from our meals? Not a chance!
Here are, in no particular order, our top 15 ways on how to get rid of onion breath:
1. Adopt a Complete Dental Hygiene
Getting the obvious out of the way, brushing your teeth helps not only protect your teeth but also reduce bad breath:
- Brush your teeth at least twice a day, ideally after each meal. You should brush your teeth right after you eat onion-flavored food to stop onion breath in its tracks.
Beyond brushing teeth, a comprehensive dental hygiene also includes:
- Flossing – brushing only cleans just over half of the surface of your teeth, and thus it is important to floss as well. You should aim to floss after every meal;
- Use mouthwash – an antibacterial mouthwash containing chlorhexidine, hydrogen peroxide, or cetylpyridinium chloride will help to prevent bad breath. Avoid brands that contain alcohol as it can dry out your mouth (one cause of bad breath);
- Use a tongue cleaner – the filaments on your tongue trap tiny particles and odor-producing bacteria. Make a point to also clean your tongue with a tongue cleaner or toothbrush, when brushing teeth;
- Use a water pick – using an irrigator or water pick cleans any stubborn food particles remaining around and under your gums and between your teeth.
2. Green Tea
Green tea is a proven onion breath remedy. Green tea has the ability to abolish the sulfur content remains from onion because it contains polyphenols and some powerful anti-oxidants. As a result, green tea can is a useful tool in the fight against onion breath:
- Take a cup of hot to boiling water and add one teaspoon of green tea leaves into it;
- Cover the glass for 5 minutes;
- Add some honey after you strain if you need a sweetener;
- You can drink green tea 3 or more times a day, depending on how often you use onion in your meals.
Drink green tea daily helps you not only preventing bad breath but also promoting healthy lips.
3. Apples
Apples contain natural enzymes that help break down sulfur compounds. As a matter of fact, apples are considered one of the best home remedies for onion breath and a traditional mouth cleaner.
- Drink apple juice to prevent bad breath; or
- Eat an apple after you eat onion-flavored food.
4. Lemons
Lemons can also be used as a prompt method for getting rid of onion breath. Like apples, lemons have citric flavor that can neutralize the onion odor in the mouth. In fact, the antibacterial properties of lemons are one of the main weapons to eliminate the bacteria connected to bad breath. You just need to:
- Mix a cup of water with lemon juice (1 tablespoon);
- Rinse your mouth with that mixture 2 or 3 times daily until the bad breath disappears;
- Alternatively, you can just make a habit to drink fresh homemade lemonade during the day;
- You could even start by chewing a bit of lemon peel.
Lemons are an invaluable fruit that you can use daily. Besides helping you with onion breath, lemons can be used to treat throat infections, indigestion, constipation, dental problems, fever, internal bleeding, rheumatism, burns, obesity, respiratory disorders, cholera and high blood pressure, while it also benefits hair and skin care. Lemons help to strengthen your immune system, cleanse your stomach, and are considered a blood purifier.
5. Milk
People have used milk as a natural mouth rinse for thousands of years, and it makes for a perfect home remedy for onion breath. Milk possesses fat which is able to neutralize sulfur contained in onions, similarly to apples and lemons. That sulfur is one of the main reasons you get onion breath.
Simply drink a glass of milk before or during a meal with onions. Choose full-fat milk because it’s more effective than skim milk.
6. Baking Soda
Another interesting odor removal tool is baking soda. Baking soda has the ability to neutralize onion smell and balance the pH of the mouth to prevent bacteria from growing. Start by:
- Taking one teaspoon of baking soda to mix with the same amount of sea salt in a glass of lukewarm water;
- Use this mixture as a natural mouthwash couple of times a day to stop onion breath.
7. Mustard Sauce
Mustard sauce is another simple but effective remedy for onion breath. Mustard sauce has a strong aroma that can subdue the smell of the onion. It can come handy someday, as you can find it at home or in a restaurant.
- Take a teaspoon of mustard sauce and put it your mouth. Swish it around your mouth for about a minute then spit the sauce out;
- After that, get another teaspoon of mustard sauce and this time eat it;
- Next, use water to clean your mouth.
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