No one likes bad breath, although it is a part of life. You don’t like smelling other’s bad breath, and no one likes smelling yours. Bad breath is embarrassing, and influences first encounters with people you might be trying to impress. A common way people deal with bad breath is with chewing gum. According to government data, every American consumes almost two pounds of gum every year.

You should know this already: gum is bad. Chewing gum results in problems with the hormones, and issues with your biomechanical system. It also contributes to stomach acid problems. To deal with this, many people have decided to go with breath mints, thinking that they are safer. I don’t like most of those because they often have chemical sweetening, something that is very harmful to you. Because you often need to boost your breath in a hurry and don’t have a toothbrush around, I’m going to give you some options for handling bad breath. I’ll start with the best option and then work my way down.

(1) Peppermint drops and oils. Get these products at a natural food store. You will find that peppermint tastes good, freshens your breath, and helps your stomach too.
(2) Use mouthwash and brush your teeth after you eat. This is particularly useful if you are at home.
(3) Cane sugar candy and mints. I’m thinking especially of some ginger candies that I get that are made with natural cane sugar. They are good for my stomach and help with my breath too.
(4) Gums and mints that have Xylitol. This is a good zero calorie sweetening option, but Xylitol has been known to irate the stomach.
(5) Normal chewing gum. This may shock you because of the sugar content, but it’s better than the chemicals in the no calorie gum.
(6) Don’t do this if you can possibly avoid it: artificially sweetened gum.