Why Does My Breath Smell Like Acetone?
This information was originally published here . More than three million Canadians have diabetes, and diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, end stage renal disease and non-traumatic amputation in Canadian adults. The the first step in managing diabetes and maintaining your health is to learn, and use the knowledge to make good decisions. People can live a healthy lifestyle even with diabetes. People often associate strong smelling breath with the food someone has eaten or poor dental hygiene. But it may reveal much more than that. If a person’s breath smells like acetone or nail polish remover, it could indicate health conditions, including diabetes. The way a person’s breath smells can be an indicator of their overall health. This article explores why a person’s breath might smell like acetone and what this might mean about their health. How diabetes can affect breath The smell of a person’s breath can indicate different things about their health. Diabetes can affect the way a person’s breath smells and can cause bad breath, or halitosis. In a 2009 study, researchers found that analyzing a person’s breath helped to identify prediabetes when diabetes is in its early stages. There are two conditions associated with diabetes that can cause bad breath: gum disease and a high ketone level. The proper name for gum diseases in periodontal disease, and its forms include: Diabetes can be associated with an increased risk of gum disease, which may cause a person’s breath to smell bad. However, gum disease does not cause a person’s breath to smell like acetone. If a person has diabetes and their breath smells like acetone, this is usually caused by high levels of ketones in the blood. Diabetes and acetone breath When diabetes is not managed well, the body do Continue reading >>
Acetone Breath And Diabetes
My husband is 58 and has type 2 diabetes. Two days ago his breath started to smell very strongly, and he was suddenly very tired and slightly nauseated. He recovered from this, and the smell went away. I've read about acetone breath in diabetics. Do you think that is what he had? What's the cause? — Alice, Connecticut Acetone breath in diabetics is caused by an excess production of acetone. Acetone, hydroxybutyrate, and acetoacetate are ketones, byproducts of fat metabolism. When the body does not have enough insulin (as is the case in people with diabetes), a hormone that is key in glucose metabolism, it instead uses fatty acids as an alternative source of energy, and ketones are the result of this process. Ketones are also produced during a fasting state or when consuming a ketogenic (high-fat, low-carbohydrate) diet. Ketones can cause nausea, vomiting, and fatigue. But I am concerned that your husband might be experiencing diabetic ketoacidosis, which is a serious and life-threatening condition. I suggest that you check your husband’s sugar level at the time you notice his acetone breath and contact his doctor for further advice. It is also quite likely that his acetone breath might be a result of missing meals. Learn more in the Everyday Health Type 2 Diabetes Center. Continue reading >>
A Distinctly Different Bad Breath. Help Identify?
A distinctly different bad breath. Help identify? A distinctly different "bad breath." Help identify? I have on rare occasion met people who had a most foul breath. I don't know how to describe it, but the odor was very similar, even exact, among every one of them. I can't personally tolerate it. This is the only kind of bad breath that smells so similar. No other bad breath is so similar across the board like this one. I get the impression that it's an infection, that they are aware of it and would like to do something about it. Does anyone have any idea what I'm talking about? Those following a diet with low amounts of carbohydrates tend to experience ketosis. It's identifiable by its "distinctive fruity acetone odor." Perhaps this is what you're talking about? I don't know, but bad breath doesn't get much worse than this. People with chronic post-nasal drip can have pretty bad breath from it. Periodontal disease could also be a culprit. Certain foods and diets can do it too. Don't forget the people who have full-plate dentures with some anaerobic decay by-products wafting out. Sufferers of diabetes, kidney failure, and intestinal parasitic infections also often present with halitosis, as well as the more obvious nasal/oral causes. I vote for garlic breath. That is as bad as any and it is very distinctive. I vote for garlic breath. That is as bad as any and it is very distinctive. My aunt can knock you over with her breath (dentures). I would hate to be around her after a garlic-heavy meal, though come to think of it, the garlic might mask some of it and not be such a bad idea.:rofl: Cadaverdine, putrescine, hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan, isovaleric acid and ,of course, skatole are all chemical components of bad breath that can arise from poor dental hygiene, in Continue reading >>
Is Your New Year Diet Giving You Bad Breath?
JUICE fasts, the 5/2 and the carb-free Atkins diets may be good for dropping the pounds in record time. But an internationally recognised expert on bad breath and halitosis said that crash dieting, fasting, and low-carb diets can also have nasty side-effects. The most common causes for bad breath with dieting is due to acetone caused by ketosis, or an excess of protein in the diet producing ammonia in the breath. One of the reasons that cutting down on carbohydrates when dieting is so popular, is that we start to burn more fat quite quickly. This process generates molecules called ketones, according to Dr Harold Katz, also known as the ‘Bad Breath Guru’ in the US. Unfortunately the body gets rid of a type of ketone called acetone, via both urine and the breath, which is often described as smelling ‘like rotten fruit’. The good news is that if you have ‘ketosis breath’ it isn’t permanent. With the right treatment and a balanced approach to dieting, most people find it subsides after a few weeks, or months. Dr Katz outlines the BEST and WORST things to eat for bad breath. 16 of the best superfoods Thu, August 18, 2016 Here are 16 of the best superfoods foods that fight disease and promote good health. Eliminate peanut butter and dairy products: Bad breath caused by peanut butter, (known as the halitosis-causing paste) milk and lactose intolerance, is instantly recognisable and if you have it, you're likely to instantly put friends and co-workers off their lunch. Traces of milk/peanut butter remain in the mouth and oral cavity and are eaten up quickly by oral microbes. These microbes let off sulfurous molecules that really have a pungent odour. Fibrous fruits help to moisten the mouth. One of the most irritating symptoms from dry mouth (at night) is bad breat Continue reading >>
Body Odor In Ketosis – What’s Going On?
If you are new to ketosis, you may find yourself somewhat puzzled by a couple of odd symptoms that can show up in the first few weeks. In short – the dreaded body odor and bad breath. Now, this can vary from person to person depending on what the state of your health is when you begin the ketogenic diet, and how your body handles the process. If you are coming from a place of quite poor overall health, with years of eating a typical unhealthy diet, plus smoking and drinking, ketosis is going to happen, but there is also going to be a process of detoxing, in which your body begins to clean itself out during ketosis as it gratefully adapts to your new, ‘clean’ way of living and eating. There Are 2 Main Causes of Body Odor When You Are in Ketosis 1. Detoxing This process of detoxing can occur throughout your body, but in particular in your large intestine. A diet that has been high in gluten and refined carbs and low in dietary fibre and fresh, wholesome foods, is likely to have left your large intestine with a fair amount of cleaning out to do. This is the main potential source of the body odour associated with the first phase of going into detox. Also, it is known that the body can often deal with toxins by locking them away in fat deposits. As your body begins to break these down and get rid of them, it also has to get rid of those toxins. The downside of all this is that, if your initial ketosis journey is also one of detox, you may well find yourself with a number of slight personal hygiene issues, like excessive and smelly wind, bad breath, sour sweats and an overall feeling of ickiness. Don’t worry! As anyone who as been through this process will tell you, it is temporary. The major bonus is that you do really feel like you are doing yourself some good whils Continue reading >>
12 Bad Breath Causes You Need To Know
50 million people suffer from chronic halitosis (bad breath) in the US, but many don’t seek help because they’re embarrassed. That’s a shame because although bad breath is often caused by oral problems, other bad breath causes come from elsewhere. And bad breath can be a sign of serious disease. The oral-systemic link can tell us much about our general health. Around 5-10% of bad breath causes are due to disease elsewhere in the body. That’s 2-5 million people whose bodies are warning them they have a disease or condition. Let’s look more closely at the oral-systemic, bad breath causes. Bad Breath Causes Dental disease and bad breath 90% of bad breath comes from proteins broken down in your mouth. When bad breath is caused by oral problems, it usually smells like rotten eggs. This is caused by the breakdown of cysteine at the front of the tongue or on the gums. It’s a sign of poor oral hygiene. More rarely, dental bad breath can be a fecal odor like odor from the gums or the top of the tongue. This is caused by imbalances within the mouth or from protein breakdown on the gum tissue or tongue. If you have bad breath, your first step is a dental exam and good oral hygiene. However, the mouth-body connection means that other bad breath smells can tell you about problems elsewhere in your body. Types of bad breath If you or your dentist can identify the type of smell in your bad breath, this can help to pinpoint its origin. This oral-systemic link means your dentist may identify potential problems elsewhere in your body – just as an optician can by examining your eyes. Here are the types of smells different systemic disease bad breath: A cheesy smell usually indicates your bad breath has a nasal origin. A fruity smell may indicate uncontrolled diabetes due to Continue reading >>
Ask The Diabetes Team
Question: From Gerrards Cross, England (for one year) then Dresher, Pennsylvania, USA: My six year old adopted son has had acetone breath consistently for several weeks. I've tested his urine with the strips for glucose and ketones twice, and they are both negative. He has had this previously only when he was slightly dehydrated from bouts of nausea and vomiting. He is otherwise perfectly healthy and active and has no symptoms of diabetes. We have a dog with diabetes which is why I am familiar with the signs and the breath odor and have the urine strips. Are there other causes of acetone breath in an otherwise normal six year old? In view of the negative strips should I still have his blood glucose tested? Answer: Not everyone can smell acetone, but if you can, the most sensitive vehicle is the breath which may explain why urine testing has been negative. Ketosis in children can occur when the body is unable to get sufficient basal energy needs from the metabolism of carbohydrate and resorts to the breakdown of fat stores with the production of ketones. This can occur because of diabetes, but, as you have noticed, this is most likely to occur when appetite is diminished by intercurrent illness. The same can happen if energy consumption is increased and a child is too busy to eat sufficiently. I think it very unlikely that what you describe has anything to do with diabetes, but if you have a diabetic dog and the means of measuring blood sugars you might test your son after a period of energetic activity to see if it is low because the phenomenon I have described is called ketotic hypoglycemia. Additional comments from Dr. Andrea Scaramuzza: When you have excluded diabetes, as in the case of your son because both urine and blood glucose are in normal range, you can take i Continue reading >>
Why Does My Breath Smell Like Acetone?
People often associate strong smelling breath with the food someone has eaten or poor dental hygiene. But it may reveal much more than that. If a person's breath smells like acetone or nail polish remover, it could indicate health conditions, including diabetes. The way a person's breath smells can be an indicator of their overall health. This article explores why a person's breath might smell like acetone and what this might mean about their health. Contents of this article: How diabetes can affect breath Diabetes can affect the way a person's breath smells and can cause bad breath, or halitosis. In a 2009 study, researchers found that analyzing a person's breath helped to identify prediabetes when diabetes is in its early stages. There are two conditions associated with diabetes that can cause bad breath: gum disease and a high ketone level. The proper name for gum diseases in periodontal disease, and its forms include: Diabetes can be associated with an increased risk of gum disease, which may cause a person's breath to smell bad. However, gum disease does not cause a person's breath to smell like acetone. If a person has diabetes and their breath smells like acetone, this is usually caused by high levels of ketones in the blood. Diabetes and acetone breath When diabetes is not managed well, the body does not make enough insulin to break down glucose in the blood. This means that the body's cells do not receive enough glucose to use as energy. When the body cannot get its energy from sugar, it switches to burning fat for fuel instead. The process of breaking down fat to use as energy releases by-products called ketones. Ketone bodies include acetone. Acetone is the same substance that is used in nail varnish remover and is distinguished by its fruity smell. When a pe Continue reading >>
Smell Of Peardrops After Training
Funny you should say that about being diabetic. I suspect that I may be mildly diabetic (if you can be such) in that I get the shakes really badly if I don't eat for a while. I also get the shakes if I drink coke which I put down to the sugar. I mentioned this to my doc who said I was just knackered and am trying to squeeze too much into my life at the moment (while not eating as often as i should). I have just had a 'just in case' blood test done and am waiting for the results. I forgot to mention the peardrops thing to him.....wish I had now. Does diabetes cause a big problem to runners cause I a'int stopping my running! Gadgetman - the shakes/irritability business sounds very familiar! Do you get cold-sweats with them as well? You really don't want to be standing between me and food when one of these episodes comes on! I avoid sugary stuff like coke because 30 minutes later I'll "crash". I had my blood sugar level tested a few times (they drop a piece of card in a urine sample and see what colour it goes). Apparantly it was normal, and the doc didn't think it was anything to worry about. It doesn't happen as much as it used to. This is probably 'cos I've learned to avoid things that trigger it, but also because I've taken up distance running, which means I eat constantly! BTW - I'd love to be "athletic", but I'm just plain skinny (5'10" and under 10st) Hypoglycaemia makes you shaky and irritable. Diabetic ketoacidosis (which is a life-threatening medical emergency and would do a lot more than just make you smell pear-drops after a hard run) is the opposite, metabolically, and these aren't typical symptoms. It's more likely to be associated with thirst, drinking a lot and peeing a lot and feeling exhausted. Getting the shakes or feeling a bit faint when you miss meal Continue reading >>
Why Does Your Breath Stink On Low-carb Diets?
Why It Happens Carbohydrates normally comprise your body's main source of energy, because carbohydrates break down quickly and easily into glucose and pass into cells, supplying them with the energy they need. When you follow a low-carbohydrate diet, your body doesn't ingest enough carbohydrate to fuel all your cells. So your body begins to break down stored fat as an energy source. During this process, your body creates incompletely burned byproducts called ketones. Ketones pass from your body in urine -- that's why people on low-carb diets often test their urine -- and, less pleasantly, through exhalation. Ketones produce an acetone-like smell, which causes the distinctive breath of ketosis. Carb Limits Not all people on a low-carb diet produce ketones. While everyone enters ketosis at their own pace, most people don't until their carbohydrate intake falls below 50 grams of carbohydrate per day, Dr. Peter Attia explains on his website, The Eating Academy. In many cases, you won't enter ketosis unless you take in 20 grams of carbohydrates or less each day, MayoClinic.com states. Some diets that call themselves low-carbohydrate diets deliberately keep the amount of carbohydrates you ingest well above this level, specifically to keep you from going into ketosis. Steps to Take Keto breath means that your diet is working; you're breaking down fat and using it for energy. But that doesn't mean you -- or your closest friends -- have to like it. You can take steps to reduce the smell. Drinking plenty of water washes the ketones out in your urine, leaving fewer to expel via your lungs. Gums, mints and other breath fresheners can help temporarily, but watch out -- many contain carbohydrates. Look for brands that use artificial sugars or you might unwittingly put yourself out of Continue reading >>
Do You Have Bad Breath? From Licking The Back Of A Spoon To Ditching High-protein Diets, Experts Reveal How To Deal With It...and Why Mints Just Make The Problem Worse
The date's gone well, your jokes have been funny and it's soon time for that all-important first kiss. But that age-old worry is never far away - does my breath smell? Bad breath can be a real mood killer, annoying everyone from colleagues to fellow commuters and frightening away potential mates. And while many of us believe a quick breath check - blowing into the palms of the hands and sniffing – is enough to detect an unpleasant odour, experts warn this method is actually ineffective. Instead, they advise licking the back of your wrist or touching a spoon against the tongue for a truer measure of freshness. Here, they reveal the most effective ways of identifying bad breath, and how to get rid of it once and for all… ‘Breathing into the palm of your hand doesn’t always work, as you only really get the smell of your hands and it has to be really bad,’ says Dr Uchenna Okoye, clinical director of London Smiling Dental Group and an Oral B smile director. Instead, she says licking the back of the wrist, waiting until the saliva dries and then smelling it will give a better indication. ‘It’s a way to isolate the saliva. If you have bad breath the saliva will smell. ‘Bacteria in the mouth break down food and make sulphur compounds which is what produces the pong,’ she explains. The smell of breath might change throughout the day, so it’s best to check up to three or four times over the course of 24 hours, she said. Another method is to lick the back of a spoon and once again wait for the saliva to dry, then smell it again. Looking at the tongue can be a good measure of the mouth’s cleanliness. ‘If the tongue is covered in a white coating it means you’re not quite right. There are some people that naturally have a whiter tongue,’ Dr Okoye said. A p Continue reading >>
855 (eat-rite)
Congratulations, you have foul-smelling breath after bariatric surgery! Though this may seem like a trick, having rotten breath after bariatric surgery usually means you are losing excessive weight rapidly. This is a good thing. Many people often report their mouths feel dry or sticky right after surgery, regardless of what they do. This is caused by ketosis which is a metabolic process your body will undergo after surgery. Radically changing your diet post operatively is the main culprit for this side effect. It’s no secret that you cannot survive without food. Food helps you to fuel your body so it can carry out necessary functions. Your body’s main fuel source is from glucose. Glucose can commonly be found in your starches, such as pasta and bread. Your body will break down these starches into simple sugars and either store them in your liver or use them to fuel your body. When you drastically reduce glucose, your body must find energy elsewhere. Ketosis is a condition where fat stores break down to give you energy since it can no longer rely on your high carbohydrate diet. Rapid weight loss is the hope for most bariatric patients. However, it doesn’t come without a price. Every patient is put on a very restrictive diet for the first two months. The first few days after surgery the only thing patients are able to drink are clear, hydrating fluids. Due to this, the body is forced to burn off fat for energy instead of burning off carbohydrates. This process is called ketosis. Ketosis is a metabolic process where stored fat is broken down for energy resulting in higher levels of ketones. These higher levels of ketones include breath acetone which is responsible for that sweeter odor of the breath. This smell is increased in ketotic individuals. As stated in the Am Continue reading >>
Ketosis Breath: Causes And Prevention
Bad breath isn’t life threatening or a health problem but rather socially embarrassing. Usually, bad breath is associated with poor oral hygiene or from eating garlic for lunch. However, adopting a ketogenic diet may be the cause of bad breath. The ketogenic diet has a plethora of amazing health benefits such as, improving fat burning, brain function and reduces inflammation. House of Keto Monitor™ is an accurate breath based device developed to measure the ketone levels in your system. Shortly after starting a ketogenic diet many people report foul breath or a bad taste in their math. This is extremely common and fortunately can be overturned. Find out more: House of Keto Monitor™ Causes Excess Protein People often consume protein as their primary source of calories when adopting a ketogenic diet as they’re reluctant to eating high amounts of fat. When someone consumes higher amounts of protein, ammonia is set free from the body through the breath. The smell varies from fruity or similar to apples that are fermenting or rotting. A high protein diet inhibits the ability to get into ketosis because excess proteins can actually be converted into sugar through gluconeogenesis. It’s also difficult to digest and can have negative impacts on the gut. Ketone Release When we begin burning fat as our primary fuel source as an outcome the body tends to churn out different byproducts. The main byproduct is the ketone compounds which are what are necessary for energy in a ketogenic diet. However, one type of ketone, acetone, is released into the breath and may have a fruity odor, just like the ammonia from the excess protein. Solutions Reduce Protein Intake It’s completely possible to eat a low carb diet without producing a foul odor. The key here is to only eat as much Continue reading >>
5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Going Keto
You will ask yourself “can everyone smell my breath or is it just me?” My husband Declan and I are currently eating keto. Why? Well keto is the new black. Everyone’s talking keto and what better way to test out the new craze then to embark on the keto way of living. So we set ourselves an eight week experiment to lower our carbs, increase our good fat and get our bodies in to ketosis. Here are the five thoughts that run through your head. 1. You can survive without your beloved carbs but it will be brutal At first I was afraid, I was petrified! Carbs and I go way back. So removing them was not easy! And what happens when you remove carbs? The Carb Flu – when your body starts to freak out on you. You see, when you eat carbs your body turns those carbs in to glucose and that’s what your body uses as its primary source of energy. When you take that glucose away by decreasing the amount of carbs you eat, your body needs to look for something else to use for energy. So it turns to your fat stores. And that’s exactly what we want on our keto journey. This metabolic state is called Ketosis. I’m not going to lie to you, the first two weeks of eating keto are brutal and your body doesn’t go down without a fight during this transition. You feel lethargic, a little cranky and generally hangry and you will think to yourself surely one or two Oreos won’t hurt? But Carb Flu is exactly what you want. It means you are transitioning to using those fat stores for energy. The Carb Flu is short lived, maybe for a few days and then once you transition in to ketosis. 2. Your breath will smell – like really bad Lucky for me I’ve been waking up next to the same person for eight years, and Declan my husband is also going keto too. So while we knew we both had horrible morn Continue reading >>
Dr Karl's Q&a Forum
Zac goes to the gym a few times a week and when he does chin ups he holds his breath on the last couple. After he completes one of these chin ups he breathes out and his breath stinks like he's been drinking all night. It only seems to work on these short bursts of intense exercise. Is this lactic acid? The mention of ketones and lactic acid in discussion of this question reminded me of the term 'ketoacidosis' from my days studying Agricultural Chemistry at Sydney Uni. From memory it happens in periods of low oxygen and may provide an answer here, but i can't find this in my old notes. All I've found is that alpha-ketoglutarate is part of the tricarboxylic acid (or citric acid or Kreb's) cycle, although this may have nothing to do with it. You may be able to get some information from the Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Soil Science at Sydney University, possibly through Dr Edith Lees, who can be found through the phonebook at the university website. Cheers. Terry : , URL : 16:59:00 18 Sep, 2003 EST I was itching to reply when this was being discussed but unfortunately unable to get to a computer or phone, but I can now. Zac's acetic breath is caused by part of a process called Ketosis which happens when your body is attempting to burn fat. Now I'll turn over to Rosemary Stanton ... "In ketosis, fats are incompletely burned and acetoacetic acid is produced. This is then broken down to ketones such as acetone. When acetone is being produced, it is excreted through the lungs (you can smell it on the breath) and in urine. Ketosis is often accompanied by a feeling of nausea, light-headedness, weakness, headache, and, sometimes vomiting." Food for Health 1990. Zac also said that he only smells it after he releases his breath after holding it for his last few repetiti Continue reading >>
