Eating Parsley After a Meal Can Keep Your Breath Fresher
Posted on 5/24/2021 by Brandon Cooley
You probably see parsley frequently as a garnish on restaurant meals or in recipes for soups, pasta dishes, salads, and more. But did you know that this common ingredient can also naturally freshen your breath? Keep reading to learn more.
How Does Parsley Freshen Breath?
If you have consumed or cooked with parsley before, you are probably familiar with its clean, peppery, and herbaceous flavor. Parsley leaves contain natural aromatic oils, which give this herb its unmistakable flavor and scent, and help to freshen your breath like a mint would. But in addition to having an herbaceous taste, parsley also contains a compound called chlorophyll, which can actually kill the oral bacteria that leads to bad breath. Freshening your breath is not only important for improving your self-confidence and leaving a good impression on the people you interact with; bad breath can actually be an indicator of serious oral health problems such as periodontal disease, so you should not dismiss the importance of having fresh breath.
Other Benefits of Eating Parsley
Besides freshening your breath and killing oral bacteria, parsley has other benefits for your oral health as well. Like other leafy greens, parsley is high in vitamin K, an important nutrient for tooth remineralization, calcium absorption, and maintaining strong teeth and bones. This herb also contains antioxidants with anti-inflammatory and possibly even cancer-fighting properties, such as myricetin and apigenin.
It might feel strange to chew parsley rather than reaching for a mint or gum after a meal, but eating parsley is a healthy way to freshen your breath and boost your oral health between brushing sessions. Since you probably do not carry sprigs of parsley around with you, try saving the parsley garnish on your restaurant meal to eat when you are finished, or incorporate parsley into some of the meals you cook at home. For other surprising ways to boost your oral health, give us a call today.
You probably see parsley frequently as a garnish on restaurant meals or in recipes for soups, pasta dishes, salads, and more. But did you know that this common ingredient can also naturally freshen your breath? Keep reading to learn more.