Everyone has a different definition of a perfect date. For me, a perfect date is a dinner, a movie and ice cream. And the best possible way to end your perfect date is a kiss to seal it. But a perfect date can be ruined with something as small as bad breath!

The story I'm about to tell you guys is something that happened to me two weeks back. I met a girl at a house party my friend was hosting and we really connected. I later found out that she was new to Mumbai and our mutual friend literally brought her to the party to check out guys. We had a really nice conversation and eventually the night faded in. 

A few days later, she asked our mutual friend to give me her number. I really liked this girl so I hit her up on WhatsApp and we decided to meet. We went out to a bar In Malad which was completely packed and ended up leaving the place after just one drink. One of my favourite restaurants, Prem's kitchen was really close by so we decided to head there. We had a wonderful meal and a shared a quarter of Old Monk. As the night proceeded, we had a nice walk and had a masala dosa on the way. 

And after conversing for almost an hour at a scenic spot in Goregaon, we leaned in for a kiss. Now I really liked this girl and I really wanted this to work. But bad breath completely turned me off! I couldn't really give in to my temptations and was distracted by the foul smell. Now I don't mean to demean the girl but the strong odour coming from her breath could only be because of some gastronomical error. So I wondered if my mouth stank too. But after the kiss, I couldn't really tell as the odour completely masked my breath! This date could have led us somewhere and just because of bad odour, we couldn't hit it off!

I decided to study a bit on what may have caused the bad odour and compiled a list of things you should avoid if you are planning to make out by the end of your date!

Onions & Garlic
Onions and garlic have a pungent odour and will make your breath smell bad. especially if you have them uncooked. While Indian food is almost incomplete without onions and garlic, make sure you order something that doesn't use these as the base ingredients. Mutton-Do-Pyaaza is a big no!

Coffee
A freshly brewed cup of joe smells heavenly but only before you consume it! Once coffee makes its way to your stomach, it reacts with the digestive acids in your stomach to produce some nasty gasses. If you are lucky, these gasses will leave through the back door, but if you have had a heavy meal which blocks the path of these gasses, they are going to make your breath smell really bad.

Seafood
Because I don't eat seafood, I don't have to worry about smelling like dead fish but for those of you who consume seafood, avoid it if you are trying to get lucky. Seafood that is a fresh won't smell but looking for fresh seafood in restaurants is like looking for a needle in a haystack. So its better to avoid eating fish on a date. 

Dairy
Anything that is made of milk will contain a lot of amino acids. Sometimes, your body takes time to process these acids and sometimes it doesn't. when these acids start dissolving your food, they produce a lot of gasses which in turn make your breath stink. Think twice before eating Paneer!

Alcohol
Alcohol leads to bad breath but in certain ways. If you are drinking a particular kind of alcohol, stick to it! Avoid mixing two different things like whiskey and Vodka. Your digestive system can't handle combinations of alcohol and you will either end up puking or have really bad breath.