The Surprising Effect of Mouthwash on Blood Pressure: What You Need to Know

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I’m Brandon Wilson. I am constantly working toward improving my mind, body, and spirit using various ancient techniques and cutting-edge biohacking tools and devices. I want to be healthy, but not at the expense of being happy. This simple idea is what it means to be wellthy.

First time reading? Let’s get you in the club.

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The countdown continues! It’s 18 days until the 10th Annual Biohacking Conference in Dallas!

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🎧 Audio Teaser

Here is a taste of the audio voiceover that Be Wellthy Club members can listen to in every newsletter.

Do you use mouthwash? If so, you might want to take a magnifying glass to the ingredients. Here’s a hint: if mouthwash burns, it’s probably not good for you.

Most people know we have a diverse microbiome of bacteria in our gut. The oral cavity has the second-largest microbiome, with over 700 species of bacteria.¹ These bacteria serve various functions in the mouth and throughout the body. The presence or absence of certain oral bacteria may impact blood pressure levels.²

In 1998, the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology was awarded for discovering that nitric oxide (NO) is a signaling molecule for the cardiovascular system.³ While nitric oxide has many vital functions, its critical role is to signal the blood vessels to relax and expand. Have you known someone who had chest pain from angina and needed to take nitroglycerine? This medicine converts to nitrite, which is a precursor for nitric oxide. Perhaps George Lopez’s uncle would have benefited from such a treatment.

Our body makes nitric oxide primarily in two ways. An enzymatic reaction uses L-arginine, an amino acid found in protein, to create nitric oxide. The other method is metabolizing inorganic nitrates in root- and leafy green vegetables. The nitrate in food converts to nitrite, which is then converted to nitric oxide by certain bacteria in the mouth. Fifty percent of our daily NO production is from our diet and oral bacteria.⁴

Guess what happens when you use mouthwash with alcohol and other harsh chemicals? Seven days of using antibacterial mouthwash has been shown to reduce oral nitrite production by 90% and plasma nitrite levels by 25%.⁵ In other words, alcohol and other antibacterial chemicals kill the bacteria responsible for nitric oxide production. Less nitric oxide means less of the signal to relax blood vessels, which could lead to high blood pressure.

The first step is to stop using alcohol- and antibacterial-based mouthwash. Allow me to share some healthy alternatives.