Since the heyday of the Atkins Diet, when everyone was led to believe that carbs were evil and high protein diets were the answer to our weight loss woes, medical advancement has shown that we can be easily led if we have the right motivation. But as with anything, the Atkins Diet lost its novelty value eventually and we started to see the light that we previously had refused to see. One thing we learned from the anti-Atkins medical profession was that the Atkins Diet causes bad breath!

So, it’s logical to assume that the choice is to either be overweight and have sweet breath or to be slim and have stinky breath. Not much of a choice, is it?

The problem with low carb diets is that the body must resort to using its fat stores for energy. In fact, it is using its ‘last resort’ fats to keep moving when what it really needs is a constant supply of sustained energy-providing carbohydrates. While the fat is being burnt, waste products are being broken down and these are called ketones. Emitted from the body as smelly breath, ketones indicate that you are in a state of ketosis, which, although it was to be aimed for by Atkins devotees, is actually not a very healthy condition to be in at all. Considering that ketosis is a condition that occurs during a starvation phase, you can understand how anyone who lost weight on Atkins could be headed for a health disaster.

Dangerous side effects from high protein diets include kidney failure, osteoporosis, kidney stones, cancer and high cholesterol.

Remember that bad breath - just like pain - is your body’s way of telling you that something’s not right. You need to pay attention to your body’s messages and once you do, your metabolism should begin to correct itself. Ketones and bad breath could be considered partners in crime but in reality, bad breath is like a police informer, reporting the ketones as undesirables.

About the Author - Lisa Simmons is a freelance writer and has written many health related articles. Visit bad breath fear, to learn more about bad breath on a low carb diet.

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