Save yourself (and your date) by avoiding bad breath on a first date

You're getting ready for an exciting first date, and it can only go one of two ways. First dates are stressful as it is, and you don't want to realize too late that you may be chowing down on food that is causing your date to run for the wind. Bad breath can be stopped with a stick of gum or breath mint, but if you're planning to spend the evening at a theater or strolling through town, it's likely that your stinky breath will rear its ugly head once again. Here are a few foods and drinks to avoid on your first date.

Greasy foods
Are you having a casual date at a local bar or pub? This may be the worst thing for your breath! Foods that are high in fat, like fried foods and pizza, are difficult for our bodies to digest, so the food hangs around in our digestive tracts for longer than healthy foods. If your date suggests ordering something fried, take it slow. Munching on this food quickly is even worse. Avoid it at all costs.

Lay off the acid
Bacteria thrives in a mouth with a high pH balance. These bacteria then let off a stench that may turn off your date. Luckily, acidic foods are not nearly as bad for breath as other items like garlic and onion, and they can usually be tamed with some water - a neutral beverage. To be safe, you may want to stay away from lemons, oranges, grapefruit, pineapple, tomatoes and peppers.

Red meat
Protein-rich food like meat, fish and chicken can cause bad breath because they produce sulfur waste compounds that linger in your mouth. Also, meats can get stuck in your teeth and lead to bad breath - bacteria thrive on meat remnants!

Take it easy with the alcohol
You may be thinking: Alcohol on a first date eases jitters and helps people break out of their shell a little- how can I not indulge a bit? Well, alcohol causes dry mouth, which inadvertently causes bad breath. If you're sharing a bottle of wine or sipping on a few cocktails, make sure you're equaling it out with some water. Your dried out mouth encourages the anaerobic bacteria to stick around and stink up your mouth.

After dinner coffee
Unfortunately, the same goes for coffee. A cup of Joe causes dry mouth and leaves a gross sulfur smell lingering in your mouth - you definitely don't want a goodnight kiss after this! Just like alcohol, sipping on water can help, but opting for a cup of tea is best.

"Besides inhibiting the growth of pathogens in the mouth, black tea and its polyphenols may benefit human oral health by suppressing the bad-smelling compounds that these pathogens produce," Christine Wu, professor of periodontics at the University of Illinois, Chicago, said in a press release.

According to the Daily Mail, green tea is the best to battle bad breath. So if you're planning on indulging in something a bit smelly during your meal, sipping on a glass of green tea may increase the probability of keeping that bad breath at bay throughout the rest of the night.

Take precautions
Avoiding these foods and drinks during your date will decrease the chance of getting bad breath, but you may still want to take extra precautions to make sure your breath is minty fresh. You may want to bring along floss, a travel mouthwash or toothbrush and sneak away to the bathroom to freshen up.