Mouthwash use may increase blood pressure, diabetes
By Sari Huhtala
Antibacterial mouthwash ought to come with a health warning label that alerts people frequent use of this product may increase blood pressure. Could one be inadvertently increasing heart attack risk by using mouthwash frequently?
A 2020 observational study in the journal Blood Pressure found that regular use of mouthwash was linked to an increase risk of hypertension. It makes total sense. Antibacterial mouthwash inhibits nitric oxide production by depleting oral nitrate-reducing bacteria, which then causes less bioavailability of the body’s systemic nitric oxide. Nitric oxide “regulates blood pressure, transmits signals between neurons and suppresses pathogens,” according to the National Institutes of Health.
The three-year observational study recruited 1028 overweight/obese individuals between the ages of 40 and 65, and controlled for age, sex, smoking, physical activity, waist circumference, alcohol consumption, systolic blood pressure, pre-diabetes and diabetes status and cardiac medication use.
The results showed those who used mouthwash twice per day or more had a higher rate of hypertension compared to less frequent users.
The San Juan Overweight Adults Longitudinal Study also found that frequent use of mouthwash was linked to an increase in prediabetes and diabetes.
The global market for mouthwash is around $9 billion USD annually. That’s a lot of mouthwash.
Here’s a simple alternative in place of mouthwash, for those who feel they really need a mouthwash.
Fill a small, clean spray bottle with distilled water. Add about 5 drops of pure peppermint essential oil, shake and spritz into mouth.
Or chew on parsley, which has plenty of chlorophyll to offset the sulphur content of bad breath.
Sari Huhtala is the creator, publisher and editor of Alive and Fit Magazine, which was created in 2007. She has over 25 years of experience in journalism and over 15 years of experience as a certified personal trainer and fitness instructor, and is a holistic chef, offering holistic cooking and edible wilds workshops. She is an organic farmer, wild-crafter and grandmother, who has spent over 20 years navigating a holistic, healthy path for her family. Reach her at friends@thelaughingforest.ca
