10 Foods that Fight Bad Breath

There is nothing more embarrassing than being pinpointed for bad breath. The medical term for this condition is called 'Halitosis' when unpleasant odours are exhaled during breathing. Mints and mouth sprays work on this problem but only temporarily. 

Let us explore the 6 main causes of Halitosis.
1.    If you do not clean your tongue properly, it will produce bacteria and fatty acids that can cause Halitosis.
2.    Dry mouth.
3.    Eating certain food items like onion and garlic
4.    Smoking.
5.    Gum diseases where bacteria grow below the gum line and create foul smell.
6.    Other causes are non-oral diseases like diabetes, carcinoma, and respiratory tract infections.

Besides brushing and flossing teeth on a regular basis, include these 10 wondrous food items to fight bad breath:-

An apple a day
An apple a day not only keeps the doctor away but also bad breath at bay. Its solid texture helps to get rid of the excessive plaque. Its juice mixes with the saliva to provide moisture to the dry mouth and eliminates bacteria.

Veggie Delight
Celery, carrots and other crisp vegetables stimulate the flow of saliva which helps in keeping your mouth moist. Their fibrous texture also helps in washing away the substances clinging into the gums. Their cleaning action and hydrating powers do not favour substances causing bad breath.

Dairy Daily
We all love dairy products, don't we? And when they come with health benefits it is a total win-win situation. Eating yoghurt each day without sugar reduces malodorous compounds that cause bad breath. It also works on gingivitis and plaque.

Cinnamon Fun
Do you like the Cinnamon sticks or prefer a tasty flavour of Cinnamon tea? Be it in any form, cinnamon basically conceals the smell in the mouth. Its strong fragrance can enrich the mouth with a nice flavour and kills the odour-causing bacteria.

Herb Garden
Chew parsley sprigs for a delightful scent. If you end up eating onion or garlic for lunch, this comes as a saviour. Also, you do not want the stink of onions and garlic during business meetings. So, only a reasonable amount of onions and garlic should be consumed at night. If you eat too much garlic at night, your whole body would smell the next day. For this, you can carry cloves or green cardamom with you. There are other herbs also like basil or rosemary that solve the same purpose. You can even steep these herbs in hot water and drink. 

Citrusy magic
Some fruits that combat bad breath are strawberries and lemons. Since they are juicy, they quickly hydrate and provide Vitamin C to the mouth. Vitamin C present in berries, melons and other citrus fruits makes it very hard for the germs to exist. Taking a regular dose of vitamin C can help you get rid of all the gum and teeth related problems. 

Love Mints
Mints do not really fight bad breath but mask it for some time. A minty chewing gum helps to keep the mouth hydrated. While you may keep one pack of sugar free mints handy, do not over indulge. In fact, a good alternative is a few drops of peppermint oil on the tongue for a very pleasant aroma. 

Water Wealth
Having plenty of water in between meals and all through the day is the best way to hydrate the mouth. It acts like an artificial saliva and washes away the food residues in the mouth leaving it refreshed. It is recommended that an adult should consume 2 to 3 litres of fluids a day, some as soups and tea, but mostly as water.

Tea Time
Black tea and Green tea are really helpful in fighting bad breath. They curb the growth of bacteria that causes unpleasant smell and prevents tooth decay. However, you should drink in moderation, as too much intake of caffeine is not good for health. 

Nutty help
Hazelnuts can work against bad breath if chewed properly and regularly. Hazelnuts are also rich in vitamins and protein. That is why hazelnuts are good for the health of teeth and gums.

Pope canonizes Pedro Calungsod as second Filipino saint

Blessed Pedro Calungsod, a young Roman Catholic missionary who died in Guam more than three centuries ago, officially became the second Filipino saint on Sunday in canonization ceremonies officiated by Pope Benedict XVI in Vatican City.

Calungsod was proclaimed saint with six others during a public consistory, or an assembly of Roman Catholic cardinals, celebrated by the Pope at the St. Peter’s Square.

Vice President Jejomar Binay represented the Philippine government at Calungsod’s canonization rites.

Calungsod was made a saint a year after the Vatican officially recognized a second miracle attributed to him—the healing of a businesswoman from Leyte who fell into a coma in 2003.

Calungsod is the second saint to come from the Philippines, a predominantly Roman Catholic country. More than two decades ago, the Vatican proclaimed Lorenzo Ruiz, a missionary martyred in Japan in 1637, as the first Filipino saint.

The Archdiocese of Cebu explains the act of canonization as “an infallible and irrevocable decision of the Pope.” It signifies that a person “now reigns in eternal glory” and must be accorded honor due to a saint by the entire Roman Catholic Church.

Aside from Calungsod, also proclaimed saints were: Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, Blessed Maria Anna Cope, Blessed Jacques Berthieu, Blessed Maria Schaeffer, Blessed Giovanni Battista Piamarta, and Blessed Maria del Carmen.

Who is Pedro Calungsod?

Calungsod was a teenage native of the Visayas region who joined Spanish Jesuit missionaries, led by Fr. Diego Luis de San Vitores, to a voyage to evangelize natives of the Mariana Islands in 1668.

On April 2, 1672, Calungsod, believed to be 17 years old at that time, went to Tumon village in Guam to aid San Vitores in baptizing a newborn baby.

The infant’s father and the village chief, Mata’pang, supposedly refused to have the sacrament performed based on the belief that the baptismal water was poisonous. The baby’s Christian mother, however, still gave her consent to the missionaries to baptize her child.

Upon learning about the baptism, Mata’pang and another villager named Hirao supposedly assaulted Calungsod and San Vitores. The Filipino martyr was hit by a spear, and ultimately killed by a blow to the head with a sword.

San Vitores was also killed during the encounter. The bodies of the missionaries were supposedly thrown into the sea and were never recovered.

During Calungsod’s beatification ceremonies in 2000, the late Pope John Paul II described the Filipino martyr as a “good soldier of Christ… who intercedes for the young, in particular those of his native Philippines.”

How he became a saint

Calungsod qualified for sainthood last year when the Vatican verified a “major miracle” reported by a doctor from Cebu City who supposedly invoked the Filipino martyr to heal a 49-year-old patient.

The patient, a woman from Leyte who had undergone heart surgery, was reportedly no longer moving, speaking or responding to any stimuli when the physician prayed to Calungsod.

The woman supposedly experienced “rapid recovery” during the next 48 hours after the doctor’s prayer, and is still living.

The patient’s recovery was reported to the Archdiocese of Cebu, which verified the incident as a “supernatural occurrence” in June 2005. The results were then forwarded to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Vatican City, which recognized the validity of the process in November 2005.

Calungsod’s feast day will be commemorated every April 2. Malacañang has described the Filipino martyr’s sainthood as a source of “great spiritual joy and national pride.” — BM, GMA News

Phl school is 2nd in ASEAN disaster response competition

An elementary school in Negros Occidental won second place in the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (Seameo)-Japan Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Award, which gives recognition to schools that have put in place educational activities to reduce risk and loss from natural disasters.

The winning Philippine entry is Iliranan Elementary School in Barangay Codcod, San Carlos City, Negros Occidental where 439 students and 15 teachers from kindergarten to Grade 6 participated under principal Gary Magnanao, the Department of Education (DepEd) said.

The title of the school’s activity and program is Iliranan Disaster Education Program (IDEP) and School and Community Always Prepared and Equipped for Disaster (Scaped).

It bested some 70 entries from South East Asia including 17 other contenders from the Philippines in the search which carries the theme “Education for Disaster Risk Reduction.”

The honor is shared by all Philippine schools which make emergency response drill part of their school activity, Education Secretary Armin A. Luistro said.

“We have always emphasized that conducting an emergency response drill is not just a matter of compliance but an activity to be taken seriously to save lives and limbs,” Luistro said.

The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (Seameo) and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan, in cooperation with UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education and the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. have sent words of congratulations to all awardees and schools that participated in the awards.

The first placer is State High School No.1 of Kungyangon, Myanmar and third place went to MIN Jejeran (Jejeran State Islamic Elementary School) of Indonesia. A Special Prize from the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. for the best Disaster Risk Reduction activity carried out in small schools of less than 150 students went to Wat Soumpouathong School, Thailand.

(Photo courtesy of the Department of Foreign Affairs)

Makati office building chosen one of Asia’s top buildings

The new 33-storey Zuellig Building, located at the intersection of Makati Avenue and Paseo de Roxas, has been chosen as one of the top 3 buildings in the “Best Office and Business Development” category of the internationally renowned MIPIM Asia Awards.

The Zuellig Building is the first high-rise project in the Philippines awarded with a gold pre-certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (Core and Shell) program of the US Green Building Council.

MIPIM, or Le marché international des professionnels de l’immobilier, is one of the most prestigious and influential global conferences and exhibitions that bring together the most prominent property-related companies and professionals worldwide. Each year, an impressive mix of the most innovative and ambitious real estate projects is recognized for design efficiency and excellence. MIPIM, which has its roots in Cannes, France, initiated in 1990 with a special focus on real estate development in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Zuellig Building, the only entry from the Philippines, is one of 117 projects from 12 countries that were entered in this year’s competition. Thirty projects were selected by a high-profile international jury of 12 industry experts to compete in 11 distinct categories.

The Zuellig Building is up against 50 Connaught Road Central in Hong Kong and Tianjin Global Financial Center in China in the Best Office and Business Development category. Voting results from an official jury and MIPIM Asia delegates will determine the ranking of winners – gold, silver or bronze.

To vote for the Zuellig Building, visit www.mipim.com/en/mipim-asia/programme/mipim-asia-awards-voting/.

This year, for the first time, MIPIM Asia lauched the “Your Choice Award” which gives the public the chance to vote for their favorite real estate development online; voting is open until November 5, 2012. The final ranking of the winners will be announced in an awards ceremony to be held on November 8 in Hong Kong.

The Zuellig Building’s recognition in the MIPIM Asia Awards validates the Makati Commercial Business District as comparable to the world’s best. The Zuellig Building’s chance to win gold will not only bring honor to the developers, but to the Philippines as well.

The MIPIM Asia Awards also includes the following categories: Best Hotel and Tourism Resort, Best Industrial and Logistics Development, Best Refurbished Building, Best Residential Development, Best Shopping Center, Best Futura Project, Best Futura Mega Project, Best German Project and Special Jury Award.