Bad breath: causes

Bad breath can have many different causes.

• Food: Foods such as garlic and onions are especially known to contribute to bad breath. When we eat, the food is absorbed into the bloodstream and transferred to our lungs. As we breathe the odour is expelled, causing bad breath. This lasts until our body has eliminated the food. If you cannot properly brush or floss your teeth immediately after eating, try to rinse your mouth with water - this will help to dislodge food particles and moisten your mouth. If your meal comes with raw parsley as a garnish, chew on it - it's a natural breath freshener!
  
• Improper oral hygiene: Proper tooth and tongue brushing and flossing can make all the difference if you suffer from bad breath. Without proper oral hygiene, food particles and bacteria left in the mouth after eating can cause bad breath. It is important to learn the proper way to brush and floss, and then practice what you learn.
  
• Smoking: Along with the damage that smoking does to our overall health, teeth, and gums, it is also a cause of bad breath.
  
• Medications: Some drugs, such as antihistamines and decongestants, cause bad breath by making your mouth dry. Dry mouth, which is explained next, is a contributor to bad breath.
  
• Dry mouth (xerostomia): Dry mouth occurs when the flow of saliva decreases. As previously mentioned, it can be a side effect of certain medications. Dry mouth can also be caused by salivary gland problems, excessive talking, exercising, dieting, smoking, continuous breathing through the mouth or drinking alcohol. To prevent and treat dry mouth it is helpful to drink lots of water or to use sugarless candy or gum. This will stimulate saliva flow that will then cleanse the mouth and remove particles and bacteria that cause odour.
  
• Gum disease (periodontal disease): Periodontal disease is a bacterial infection of the gums that support the teeth. Individuals who suffer from gum disease are more prone to bad breath as it creates the perfect breeding ground for odour-causing bacteria to flourish. Normally the tiny space in between your gums and teeth is 1 mm to 3 mm. When you have periodontal disease the space (periodontal pockets) can grow to 5 mm or more. This allows bacteria to hide in deeper and more secluded areas.
  
• Other medical disorders: Medical disorders that can cause bad breath include respiratory infections, chronic sinusitis, chronic bronchitis, postnasal drip, diabetes, and gastrointestinal, liver, or kidney problems.

If you have persistent bad breath that has not been treatable by proper oral hygiene techniques, you should consult with your dentist. Bad breath can often be a warning sign of periodontal disease or respiratory infection.

Suzette Alvarez, medical writer,
in association with the MediResource Clinical Team
Reviewed by Alex Yule, BDS, MDS

India stands among world's most corrupt nations

India is not only perceived to be one of the most corrupt countries by the transparency international in its annual corruption perceptions, ranking 84th in the list of 180 countries in terms of public-sector corruption, which is perceived to be highly corrupt.

While releasing the list of naming and shaming the world's most corrupt countries, the international watchdog has for the first time recommended that tax havens like Switzerland and Liechtenstein should do away with the secrecy in banking laws.

"Corrupt money must not find safe haven. It is time to put an end to secrecy in banking laws," said the Berlin-based group's Head Huguette Labelle. The bottom five nations were Somalia, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sudan and Iraq, while the cleanest countries with ranking close to perfect 10 were New Zealand, Denmark and Singapore.

Even China scored 3.6 on the scale, thereby indicating slightly better position than India in terms of perception of corrupt countries. In India's other neighbouring countries, Nepal was at 143rd position much below India, Pakistan scored 2.4 claiming 139th position along with Bangladesh while Sri Lanka scored 3.1 and stood at 97th position.

The bottom five nations were Somalia, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sudan and Iraq, while the cleanest countries with ranking close to perfect 10 were New Zealand, Denmark and Singapore.

"Transparency international has found that strong correlation between corruption and poverty continued to exist, jeopardising the global fight against poverty and threatening to derail the UN Millennium Development Goals," Admiral (Retd.) R H Tahiliani, Chairman of Transparency International India said in a statement.

Men talk about flirting

Why are some people better at flirting than others? When it goes wrong, it can be awkward and sometimes offensive. But when there's that spark of connection, flirting provides a lot of ego-boosting bang for your buck. There are common signs of flirting: raised eyebrows, nodding, smiling, eye contact, physical contact. It sounds simple, but sometimes it can get complicated. We talked to men of all ages to find out what they had to say about flirting. And we gathered a couple of cringe-worthy stories, too.

What makes you flirt with a woman?
Her eyes. If she looks at me in a certain way, I know she's a flirt. Like she wants me to notice her. That's not a bad thing, it's a great thing.

- Joe, 29

Nothing makes me do it, it just happens naturally if I like her, as a friend or as romantic potential.

- Mo, 32

If I'm in a good mood and I get a good energy from a woman, then I'll flirt with her. But I don't think I'm a big flirt. I've had a few massive failures.

- Andy, 38

How do you flirt?
I touch her somewhere. I mean on the arm or hand or back! If I want to touch her, then I'm flirting with her.

- Marcus, 36

Try to make her laugh. If you can make a woman laugh, it's a good starting place.

- Tony, 42

When she's smiling a lot, but also looking away. That's a good sign.

- Peter, 44

How can you tell when a woman is flirting with you?
You can just tell. It goes both ways, right? Women can tell when we're flirting with them, so it's the same for us. There's a connection or a shared joke or you're attracted to each other. It isn't always about sex. Sometimes it's about platonic chemistry.

- John, 52

When a woman looks you in the eye and smiles a lot - but that could also mean she's just friendly. It can be confusing sometimes to know the difference. Just so women know, men think that too.

- Mo, 32

Do you think flirting crosses a line if you're in a relationship?
Not if it's not sexual. I flirt with everyone, not because I'm attracted to everyone, but it just comes naturally. I don't even think it's flirting, really. Just being friendly. Especially to beautiful women. But I do flirt with everyone, if I have a girlfriend or not.

- Peter, 44

No. If I think she's flirting with me first (that doesn't happen too often, I've been married for 30 years), and it seems innocent, then I'm sure I respond in kind. I'm married, not totally oblivious. My wife and I trust each other implicitly, however, and we know what we're doing here.

- John, 52

What's the worst flirting experience you've had? (The following stories are anonymous, rightly so)
I had a few too many pops at a wedding and told a hot bridesmaid who was rather shy that I was going to blow her mind. I just kept saying that over and over again. 'I'm going to blow your mind!' I was trying to impress her, or maybe I was trying to convince her that I would be a good guy to hang out with later. I liked her. Whatever I was doing, she was so embarrassed by it that she left the reception early. I did email her to apologize for being a drunk loser, but she didn't write back.

In university, I had some classic flameouts. My buddies called me the Stingman instead of wingman because I chased women away. Luckily, I met an incredible woman who agreed to marry me! Once I tried to flirt with this girl I had a thing for in my [Geoffrey] Chaucer class by reading my passage with a perfect accent (we had to read aloud with an Olde English dialect every week). Imagine me reading my Chaucer proudly with my perfect accent and my really geeky clothes and, I admit it, I carried a briefcase. I stared at her the whole reading and I think she was totally creeped out by it. Needless to say, nothing happened between us.

Popular games on Facebook

Got time to spare after touching base with your friends and groups on Facebook? It is time to get addicted to online gaming, for social gaming is the latest most happening fad to hit cybertown. Here is a list of some of the most popular games on Facebook.

FarmVille:

Have you ever considered farming as a retirement option? Then check out FarmVille and get your farming basics right - minus the manure, of course. A management game, FarmVille, allows you to set up a farm your own way and tend to your animals like you would in a real farm. With more than 61,323,326 monthly active users, it is perhaps one of the most popular games on Facebook.

Word Challenge:

This game is for people who love English. Juggle around words to form new ones, challenge your friends and even go on a discovery of new words and build your vocabulary. Word games are the most fun way to improve your language skills, as reflected in the thousands of followers that this game attracts.

Bubble Town:

If arcade games are your cuppa happiness, you will just fall in love with this one. What makes Bubble Town way different from other similar games like Bejeweled is the simple fact that the Borbs in the town snooze off if you do not hit them! Borbs are the cute faces which populate Bubble Town. This also makes Bubble Town one of the most addictive arcade games on Facebook.

YoVille:

YoVille is a virtual world in itself. You can customise your YoVille character to do almost anything you would do in your daily life. Make friends, play with them, have fights, go to work, earn wealth and even acquire a house, much like Sims, though with a lot more options.

Mafia Wars:

Have you wanted to be a Mafia don and start your own kingdom of crime? Check out Mafia Wars. The goal of the game is to run three types of crime business, be the ultimate mafia don and rule over New York City. This is another hugely popular game with the addicted users also using their spoils of war as their status updates on Facebook.

Know-It-All Trivia:

From spelling tests to History and Math, Know-It–All is a very entertaining and informative game in a quiz format. The questions have to be answered within a particular time limit, which just adds to the fun.

Biotronic:

This is another arcade game. Play it to enjoy the exploding combos and colourful animations that fill your screen.

Cafe World:

You do not need any inclination for cooking to play Cafe World, just a deep love for food will do. All you have to do is set up a virtual character and choose a dish to cook. The only drawback here is you can't taste the yummy looking dishes, but this minor hitch aside, this is a big hit with gastronomes in the virtual world.

Fish World:

Do you love aquariums but do not want to get your hands dirty and clean fish tanks? Fish World on Facebook, gives you the chance to keep exotic and colourful fishes in aquariums you have to maintain. You can 'live' in an environment that will make even Nemo see green!

Farm Pals:

Farm Pals is a more basic game than FarmVille. But what makes it fun is the fact that you can steal produce from your friends' farm. No arguments about who owns the apples with angry neighbours in this!

These games are the most popular on Facebook, as evidenced by the number of addicts that run into thousands of thousands for each. So which game will you be playing the next time you are on Facebook?

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My Facebook Profile

Foods that fight wrinkles

Fighting wrinkles is anything but fighting the inevitable. And at this point, your average five-year-old could probably tell you that step 1 is staying out of the sun. So what else can you do? How about rearranging what's on your plate tonight.

Load up on: Cut down on:

Vegetables Red meat

Beans Butter

Olive oil Sugary, processed foods

Nuts

Whole-grain bread

Sure, every health expert says you should eat this way, but skin researchers have found that people who actually do have bodies that not only are physically younger, healthier, and slimmer, but they're also less likely to get wrinkles. Cool.

Why? Experts suspect it's because the foods in the "load up" column are crammed with antioxidants, those cellular warriors that fight both aging and disease. Specifically, credit for their wrinkle-fighting success is given to five potent antioxidants -- vitamins A, C, and E, zinc, and selenium -- which excel at reducing the amount of free radicals skin cells produce. Free radicals are what do the aging damage in the first place.

Wondering what to have for dinner tonight? How about a whole-wheat veggie pizza?

Five foods that fix bad breath

Last night, the tacos smothered in onions were great, but this morning your breath could fell a sumo wrestler.

What to do? When your breath has been turned toxic by smelly foods -- usually garlic, onions, or curry, but fish and cheese can do a number too -- you need an air freshener for your mouth. And often: every 30 to 60 minutes until whatever it is has cleared out of your bloodstream, which sometimes can take up to 24 hours. Since brushing constantly is impossible, try countering offending foods with what's likely to be handiest: other foods.

1. Lemons. Suck on a lemon wedge or nibble on the rind -- easy to do in restaurants, where there's often a citrus garnish and if not, you can order sparkling water with lemon. For other times, lemon-flavored hard candies work just as well and are totally portable.
   


2. Parsley and other green garnishes. When your favorite garlic-laden pasta dish or onion-topped burger arrives with a few sprigs of parsley on the side, consider it a hint, not just eye appeal. Chewing on the sprigs afterward releases parsley's pleasant, breath-freshening oils. Garnishes of fresh basil and rosemary work too.
   


3. Apples and other crisp-fresh foods (firm pears, carrots, jicama). They're high in fiber, all that chewing ups saliva production, and the combo acts like a scrubbing rinse for your mouth. Sweet.
   


4. Crunchy spices. For a more exotic solution, pick up some anis, cardamom, coriander, and/or fennel seeds in your grocery's spice aisle. Mix equal parts in a small covered bowl and keep on the dining room table next to the salt and pepper. Chewing on a few seeds will release enough oils to sweeten after-dinner curry or coffee breath. And your mouth will taste amazing.
   


5. Mint sprigs or cinnamon sticks. Either of these deliciously potent flavors will squelch the sulphurous scent of onion or garlic. Plus, an essential oil in cinnamon kills a nasty type of oral bacteria, should they be aiming to set up house in your mouth. Cinnamon or mint gums are just as effective. If you pick a gum sweetened with Xylitol, it will freshen breath and help reduce cavities -- smart if you're a gum lover. Bonus: Long-term good oral care can actually make your RealAge more than 6 years younger.
   


6. Berries and yogurt. If you can't get through most days without indulging in foods that are hardly breath-friendly, eat for prevention -- even better than a cure. Consuming a half-cup of plain, sugar-free yogurt twice a day can lower mouth levels of hydrogen sulfide (yes, that rotten egg smell). Berries (and melons, oranges, and other fruits high in vitamin C) also deter stinky mouth bacteria. Start and end the day with a fruit cup topped with a big dollop of yogurt and you might never have to worry about bad breath again.