Is Your Mouthwash Killing You?

Your mouthwash is killing you. That's right. You heard me right. Your mouthwash is killing you. What do I mean by this? How can mouthwash increase your risk for cardiovascular disease? How can mouthwash increase your systemic inflammation? How can it disrupt your gut and cause a whole host of other issues? We're going to talk about that right now. How can mouthwash increase your blood pressure? These are all scientifically proven facts. How was that? Let's talk about it. There's a big focus on your gut microbiome right now, gut bacteria, etc. But did you know that your gut microbiome actually seeded by bacteria in your mouth? So having actually a well balanced PH in your mouth and having happy, healthy bacteria in your mouth actually seeds your GI tract. So having a healthy mouth actually impacts your gut. It's a really interesting thing I've seen in my medical career where I see diabetic patients, people with all kinds of weird gut issues. They universally all have poor dentition and poor oral hygiene. There's also literature coming out with things like periodontitis or chronic gum infections being related with Alzheimer's and a whole host of things. Some newer information is also showing the link between vascular health and the bacteria in your mouth. What do I mean? There's a thing called nitric oxide, and many of you heard of nitric oxide. It's what Viagra works through. It's also how medications like nitroglycerin work. And so what happens is when you get nitric oxide in your vessels, they dilate, your blood pressure comes down, you have less heart attacks. If you have a heart attack, you can use IV nitroglycerin to lower the impact of it. So this thing's really important. But how do we get nitric oxide in our arteries to affect our brain, our gut and our sexual function? Well, actually, when you consume nitrates in foods like beets, leafy greens, they actually have the precursor for nitric oxide. But there's certain bacteria that are needed to interact with the greens in your mouth and the greens actually release these nitrates. And then when you hit the stomach acid in your GI tract, it becomes further released to actually then be absorbed by your body. So without the right bacteria in your gut and the right stomach pH. Interesting. All of a sudden, nitric oxide, which is important for brain function, blood pressure control and a whole host of other things, you don't actually get into your body. So having a healthy mouth and having enough stomach acid is super important as well. This is probably how some of the literature shows that Actually using mouthwash actually associated with increasing your blood pressure and your risk of cardiovascular disease is also associated with mouthwash killing a bacteria in your gut with an increased risk for diabetes. So your oral health and the bacteria health, the microbiome, the bacteria in your body, it's not just in your gut, it's in your skin, it's in your sinuses, it's in your private parts, it's all over. Your body has unique microbiomes in different parts of your body or bacterial colonies that actually serve health purposes, if they're correct. And so one of the things that people might notice, there's tartar in the mouth, if you get a lot of tartar buildup or scaling, that's actually a biofilm for the wrong kind of bacteria growing in your mouth. Periodontal disease, gum recession, your cavities, these are all related to poor oral dentition, poor mouth health that affects your whole body. So now we know there's an oral systemic or mouth system impact. And ultimately having the right kind of bacteria in your mouth is super important. So what can you do to help your cardiovascular health, your gut health and these things? The first thing is if you have issues with gum inflammation, tartar buildup, foul smelling breath, you have a white tongue, you really need to work on the bacteria in your mouth. A couple easy ways to do this are something called oral pulling, where you actually swish in your mouth with coconut or olive oil for about five minutes twice a day. You can also use oral probiotics where you actually chew them and they actually will get lodged in your gums, and even using certain toothpastes that actually have probiotics in them. The third, the third or fourth thing you can do actually are certain mouthwashes that have essential oils that actually help control the bacteria in your gut. I've used these interventions and help put patients periodontal disease in remission as well as decrease their Carter buildup and improve their oral health. And again, this also then having the right oral composition then makes it so when you eat your leafy greens, you eat your beets, you eat your kale and these foods with appropriate amount of stomach acid, all of a sudden now you're getting all the health benefits you're supposed to get. Finally, stomach acid is really a huge thing. This is where things like proton pulp inhibitors, while they're now associated with an increased risk for high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, renal disease and dementia, it's not just the primary nutrients you lose through low stomach acid, it's also the effects of nitric oxide, which is one of the primary signaling molecules for health and longevity. So hopefully this information is helpful. Keep on asking questions. If you have any comments, please put them below and we will talk to you soon.