A new study showed that people who use mouthwash immediately after exercising canceled out a major benefit derived from exercise — lowering blood pressure, according to Science Alert.
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It turns out that rinsing your mouth with a capful of antibacterial chemicals reduces your body's ability to convert dietary nitrates from whole foods to nitric oxide in your stomach. Nitric oxide reduces your risk of gastric ulcers and high blood pressure, helps prevent insulin resistance and regulates energy production.
By rinsing your mouth with a mouthwash, you could be rinsing away good bacteria that are key in the process to opening up your blood vessels and lowering your blood pressure.
Nearly 50% of Americans have bad breath — called halitosis — an embarrassing problem that is a symptom of a medical condition. Nearly 200 million people regularly use mouthwash.
Today, in addition to alcohol, mouthwash products may also contain potassium sorbate, polymer 407 and propylene glycol4. The combination of these chemicals in your mouthwash impairs the ability of oral bacteria to reduce nitrate to nitrite, which impacts not only your oral health, but your entire system. As a result, it may also increase your risk of developing prediabetes or diabetes.
Many mouthwashes claim to freshen your breath for up to six hours, but in fact, do so for anywhere from four to 42 minutes. While these mouth rinses focus on altering the chemical composition of the rancid gases, they do nothing to stop the bacteria causing bad breath — and sometimes can do more harm than good.
Bad breath not only affects you, but also those around you. But don’t despair, there are treatments other than commercial mouthwashes. First and foremost — the best treatment for halitosis has to start with a healthy lifestyle and the food you eat.
A better option than a commercial mouthwash would be to use essential oils like thyme, peppermint, wintergreen and eucalyptus, which have been shown to reduce inflammation and plaque that may cause bad breath.
Diluted with water and used as mouthwashes, essential oils are able to reduce the presence of a common bacteria that causes bad breath by 75% and prevent bad breath for up to three hours.
Another natural technique you could try is oil pulling. This ancient Ayurvedic Indian tradition is done by swishing coconut oil in your mouth and "pulling" it between your teeth for 20 to 30 minutes. Oil pulling is said to kill pathogenic bacteria, promote optimal oral hygiene, and detoxify your system.
Be aware that natural oils only work temporarily and will not address the real cause of bad breath. There is really no shortcut to treating halitosis. You need to find out what causes your bad breath in order to make it completely disappear.