Puneet Nanda Reveals #1 Mouthwash Mistake!

A burning question is, should there be alcohol in the mouthwash? Yes or no. So I want to empower you by giving you the advantages of using alcohol based mouthwash, disadvantages of using alcohol based mouthwash, my opinion, and then letting you be the guru of your own wellness. So, by the way, you all know alcohol still, alcohol based mouthwashes are the most prevalent or they own the majority of their share in the market. They are over 50%. All major companies at some point or the other have had alcohol based mouthwashes. Some promote it more than others. But alcohol is a major ingredient in the mouthwash. So is mouthwash necessary? I'll also come to that. There's a lot of people, a lot of debate, don't use a mouthwash. And they are mostly talking about alcohol based mouthwash or a mouthwash that says kills 99.9% germs. A lot of the functional dentists have been after that. So let me start by telling you the benefits. And number one, why does mouthwash need alcohol? Let's start with that. Whenever you make a mouthwash, you need some kind of a solvent. That solvent can be water alone or that solvent can be alcohol. A lot of companies started using alcohol because alcohol works very fast, like in your hand sanitizer, when you go to a hospital or even at home. It says 99.9% germs killed. It is because the moment you put a few drops of alcohol, you rub your hands for a few seconds, your germs are all gone. Why? Because alcohol dehydrates, dehydrates the bacteria. So the cell wall of the bacteria, it disintegrates because the alcohol has the drying effect. So the bacteria end up dying because they don't have the water left. So that is the exact same principle that is utilized when you put alcohol in your mouthwash. It literally, in a way causes dehydration. So not only does it dehydrate the bacteria, it also dehydrates your mouth, which means it causes dry mouth. So we'll come to that later. But let's first talk of the advantages. It is a great solvent, by the way. It's fast and furious. It works the best when you're looking for something to act fast. So the number one advantage according to me is it has antimicrobial property. So if you've gone through certain procedures and you need an antibacterial microbial product that works very quick, alcohol is a great choice. It also dissolves parts of essential oils like a big brand has some parts of the Essential oils that are very needed, they are almost essential oils, but parts of essential oils, like fractionated essential oils that are there in certain brands. And then they add alcohol as a solvent. They add some sodium saccharine as a kind of a sugar alternative. They also add some kind of poloxymer to kind of ensure the emulsification is there. So when you use it, you feel really refreshed because it also has probably mint in it. And the whole experience is refreshing but simultaneously burning, burning because of the alcohol. And we'll come to the second point, breath freshening. So if in case your breath is not fresh at all and you need quick, fast, easy resolution, one way is to use the alcohol mouthwash. It will give you a quick fix like a band aid. Long term, we'll talk about it and the disadvantages, but it does do a quick breath freshening effect. Number three, alcohol based mouthwashes also. And these, when I say alcohol based mouthwashes, a tiny alcohol is more like a preservative. The alcohol percentage, if it is more than 20%, more than 20% in a bottle. If you've got a big bottle, 20% or more is what I'm referring to as alcohol based mouthwashes because that means it's got a lot of alcohol. And in that case it basically has the ability to penetrate certain layers of biofilm. If the biofilms have become plaque, then maybe not, but certain layers can be effectively penetrated. And the bad bacteria that are lying get exposed behind the bathrooms, they get exposed and you can always brush it off. Those also help you clean your breath, whiten your teeth to some extent and keep your breath fresh. So all said, these are the advantages. Now let me tell you the disadvantages. Number one disadvantage, it causes dry mouth. Alcohol dries you out. If you use hand sanitizers eight or 10 times, you'll see you'll have white, white color hands and you feel like your hands are drying out. Why is that? Because that's the nature of alcohol. It dries you out. So dry mouth means an unhealthy mouth. Dry mouth, long term use of alcohol has been associated with, at some degree with xerostomia. Xerostomia means a condition which means dry mouth. A lot of people do have dry mouth also because they are taking antidepressants or they are taking some kind of medications that cause dry mouth. Medications that are antihistamines also cause dry mouth. Number two thing, it does irritate the oral tissue. So let's say if you, you have some sensitive mouth or you have some cuts and nooks in the mouth, you'll see that burn. Let's say you got a cut here and you put alcohol on it. You say, oh, that's the exact thing you may feel when you use alcohol based mouthwash in case you have some cut or some nook or some cranny inside the mouth and that irritation could be prolonged or, and overall over the long term of period, using alcohol based mouthwash can cause some kind of oral tissue irritation for certain people. Number three, there is a study or two which is not really a deep study and has not been confirmed by peer reviews to a very big degree. But there are certain studies that have come out that were controversial, that have linked oral cancer with alcohol usage. And these are more prevalent in people who have been drinking alcohol and have been smoking. Not just mouthwash alone. So there is those studies. Are they fully researched? Yes, to some degree and no to some degree. They are not really fully fully researched. Or maybe the intent to fully research and downplay them may not be there because nobody's making money to take out certain things, but anybody who has the product has a lot of intent to do studies to disassociate from those problems. Number four, it does disrupt the oral microbiome because it does absolute killing. So 99.9% germ scale means good, bad, ugly, everything is gone. So in case, you know, certain times when you use a non alcohol based mouthwash, it could be different. But in this scenario everything is gone. In other scenarios the bacterial overload could get less. But remember, 98% of the bacteria are good bacteria. They are the ones that help you digest your food. So a lot of people are eating probiotics. A lot of people have seen that they have elevated high blood pressure, especially on people who already are at a certain age. They see quite a big bit of difference, almost up to 26 points. And I will try to put all these links in the link section so that you don't think I'm making it up. Everything is substantiated. You can always go to Perplexity Pro to kind of check all those links, but and then you form your own opinion. So way I work is give you the advantages, give you the disadvantages, give you my opinion, and then I let you make the conclusion and be the guru of your own wellness. So watch out for my opinion. So whatever I'm going to tell you of my opinion is my personal opinion and it has no forbearance. It is not what you should do. You have to be the Guru of your own wellness. So number one, if what I would do with alcohol based mouthwash is I would use it occasionally. The reason I would use it occasionally is because I think there are alternatives available that are alcohol free, that have similar antibacterial properties without the burn, without the irritation, without messing up with the oral microbiome that to that extent simultaneously without causing me dryness. So I would probably look for an alcohol free alternative. Secondly, one very important thing to me is that my own saliva, which I believe is the most powerful thing God gave us, I'm more concerned about not drying that out. So I would use a mouthwash that either has xylitol or glycerine in it that actually would keep me moist. One of the things that I, the reason I sell oil pulling and I talk about oil pulling is oil pulling stimulates the salivary glands, because the salivary glands are right here. And if you're actually using a xylitol based mouthwash that also stimulates the salivary glands. So great alternative in case you still want to use alcohol based mouthwashes. You know what, personally, I would limit the frequency. Number two, I would always dilute it. Half mouthwash, half water. Although that's not what they talk about on the package, but that's what I would do. By the way, mouthwash is not a replacement to your brushing, your flossing, your toothpaste, water flosser, all that stuff. Mouthwash is always in conjunction with all that good stuff. Last but not least, you have to be the guru of your own wellness. So I gave you the advantages, the disadvantages, my thoughts. Now you decide what you want to do.