Bad Breath is a warning of worse health problems...

Bad breath can be
an independent marker for many other health issues like
diabetes and gum disease. But according to a recent study
at the American College of Rheumatology bad breath
indicating gum disease may also be a marker for Rheumatoid
Arthritis .

Rheumatoid Arthritis is an autoimmune dysfunction where the
immune system actually attacks itself. Technically as
cellular communication breaks down, the body’s internal
defense system cannot tell self from non-self. The result
is joint tissue is destroyed as if it were an invader or
foreign substance.

Researchers also used data from another study done at the
John Hopkins University that involved an oral health survey
of more than 150 Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients. They
found a definite connection between active RA and gum
disease. In fact, prevalence of gum disease in RA patients
is more than twice that of the general population.

Plus at least 30% of RA patients in a 2007 study at the
Center for Disease Control (CDC) had severe periodontal
disease.

The fascinating thing, as it turns out, is that patients
who treat their periodontal disease show an improvement
over their RA symptoms. This same result works well for
other systemic diseases like diabetes and heart disease .

The moral of the story is . . . be sensitive to what your
body is trying to tell you, it is usually more important
than you might first think.

Covering up symptoms does not eliminate the cause of the
problem in any case, but especially when it comes to your
health.

So popping those tiny breath mints may be actually
promoting the systemic break down of your entire immune
system.