This is a YouTube video titled "Why Mouthwash is Bad for You: Dave Asprey with Trina Felber" featuring a discussion between Dave Asprey and Trina Felber recorded in December 2020. The conversation focuses on the negative effects of mouthwash on oral microbiome health, the impact of ingredients like alcohol and peroxide, and broader health implications such as cardiovascular health and erectile dysfunction. The content is an informative dialogue between two speakers sharing expert insights on oral hygiene and health.
Chapters
Bulletproof radio, a state of high performance.
Tell me why mouthwash is absolutely the stupidest idea ever, Trina.
Well, because as they market it, it kills 99% of bacteria. They don't say bad bacteria, they say all bacteria. And that means your good bacteria is dead, too. And the main problem with that, and I know there's been studies that have shown with hand soap that you talked about with triclosan and the antibacterial stuff, it takes two weeks for your body to reestablish a good microbiome after the last time you've used it. So the same thing basically happens inside your mouth. It can take up to two weeks after the last time you've used something like mouthwash to reestablish a good microbiome. So what happens when you destroy your good bacteria is that the bad bacteria can grow so rampant in the acidic environment that you're creating. So mouthwashes, especially the ones that contain alcohol, are artificial flavors, colors, even some fluoride ones. Those are going to create a more acidic environment, besides the fact that it's just killing everything. And that means that your good bacteria isn't even going to have a chance when you're exposed to it. You're just going to be growing bad bacteria, which ultimately is going to lead to gum disease and cavities. And when you talk about bleeding gums, that alcohol and those harsher ingredients can break down your gum tissue. They're caustic or they're harsh to your gum tissue, which can cause your gums to degenerate a little bit quicker.
It's because of the alcohol itself.
Yeah. And even peroxide. I didn't talk about this with dental, like the toothpaste, but another ingredient I tell people to avoid is peroxide, whether it's with teeth whitening systems or with a whitening toothpaste. And when you get into how peroxide works, it kind of blows your mind on how it works to whiten your teeth. But when you're talking about the microbiome inside the mouth, it's not good for your microbiome and it's not great for your gum tissue either.
Do we have evidence that hydrogen peroxide is bad for your oral bacteria? I thought it killed a lot of the bad guys, but it kept the aerobic guys around.
The problem is that the blend a lot, you know, it's not usually just peroxide and you don't want to.
I just rinse with peroxide. Sometimes if my breath is not doing right, dilute it. So it's around 1.5% and I'll rinse with that. It seems to be okay, but if I'm doing something wrong, you should tell me.
Yeah. So I know what it does with your dental and I know it can destroy some of the good bacteria as well. But doing it once in a while isn't going to be as caustic as using something that has all the other ingredients with the peroxide. But when you're using it, here's the biggest thing that I like to tell people. If you are someone that still has the amalgam or the mercury fillings. Oh, yeah, peroxide should complete. And this isn't. Nobody knows this. It should be avoided if you have amalgam fillings because the peroxide can break down and leach mercury into. It vaporizes it. There's a vaporizing Tooth video on YouTube.
One thing that blew me away that I learned about mouthwash and I haven't used mouthwash in many years. If I need to, I do use that diluted hydrogen peroxide, but not on a super regular basis. I have actually brushed with that for a while when I really needed to kind of get things cleaner. But I've actually noticed I get more whiteness from my teeth from using the powder than if I just only brushed with hydrogen peroxide. I think because it cleans better. I noticed that when I would use an alcohol based mouthwash, even without the triclosan and all, for a while there, way back in the day, this was like 14 years ago, I would make my own mouthwash. I'm like, a little bit of vodka, a little bit of this, a little bit of that, right? Because at least I'm using a good alcohol. But I would get dry eyes, like very routinely every time I'd use that. And I finally correlated this. I'm like, why are my eyes so dry if I use a mouthwash? Do you know why an alcohol based mouthwash would give you dry eyes?
I don't offhand do you know? Tell me.
I found a study or a mention of it somewhere that helped me to figure that out. And off the top of my mind, I don't remember what the mechanism was, but it was probably something to do with the microbiome.
And.
And then a study came out that said alcohol based mouthwashes were destroying your ability to make nitric oxide, which happens in your saliva from your good bacteria. So that means. Oh, wait, cardiovascular disease. If you don't have enough nitric oxide, your blood vessels can't dilate effectively. Oh, and what other part of the body, whether you're a man or woman. Would you like to have your blood vessels dilate at certain times? I wonder. So, really, do you think it's possible that mouthwash could contribute to erectile dysfunction?
Of course it can. Everything can. Yes. I mean, if you're destroying your good bacteria. The nitric oxide is so important, and nobody talks about that, but it's so important for overall health as well as your blood pressure control, as well as what you were talking about. Erectile dysfunction and all sorts of things. Brain health, everything is related to. Nitric oxide is just like something. It's a component that nobody's talking about, but it really needs to be. There needs to be more discussion about it.
