Bad Breath

Archived Q&A and Reviews


Co-worker's Bad Breath and Body Odor

This is a very sensitive topic. My coworker has a terrible breath and sometimes bad body odor that makes it very hard to anyone to be close to her. I hear people talking behind her back and even making jokes about it. They also avoid her for this reason. I'd like to help. After over a year of struggling about how to approach her I used all the diplomacy I could find and mentioned with her. I asked if anyone had ever mentioned anything to her and she told me no. We both discussed the possibility that she could have a stomach problem and we would look for help. Does anyone know what can cause this kind of problem and what the possible solutions are? How can I help her?


Bad breath is very often caused by dental caries. Does she visit the dentist regularly?


Some suggestions for your colleague to try for one month:

  • 1. alfalfa tablets regularly between meals.
  • 2. fresh squeezed lemon juice in 1/2 glass warm water first thing each morning.
  • 3. dry-brushing the skin (toward the heart and not on the front torso) for 5 minutes before shower
  • 4. hydrotherapy- 1 minute very hot water, 1/2 minute very cold while exhaling, 1 minute very hot water, 1/2 minute cold, etc. for up to 7 rounds.
  • 5. bromelain and/or papain digestive enzymes with each meal.
  • 6. some probiotics after each meal (Lactobacillus acidophilus)
  • 7. 1-2 tsp liquid chlorophyll in water or juice after each meal and before bedtime.
  • 8. limit sugar in the diet.

Other digestive enzymes are recommended if she tends toward dampness in her gut. A full spectrum pancreatic enzyme formula can be found in most health food stores.


I watched a TV expose all about bad breath one time. The solution, in most cases, was cleaning the tongue regularly with a special dental device designed for that purpose: an inexpensive plastic thing referred to as a tongue scraper I believe. Some sort of microbial crud grows on some people's tongues and creates exceptionally bad breath. I watched this because my spouse sometimes has this problem. I have also noticed that when he is away from his favorite coffee/milk combinations (we are on vacation, for example) he is much less likely to have this problem.