I found this article. It’s a small study. But it revealed an overlooked thought many have with antibacterial products such as mouthwash.

In our body there are good and bad bacteria’s. This is well known. In some instances, like when we have severely harmful bacteria in our bodies, antibacterial products are a fine option to destroy the bad bacteria and help restore our health. Obviously, the downside is we destroy the good bacteria in our bodies as well. So these products must be used with care and with wise discretion.

However, mouthwash is a product most people use daily and even multiple times a day. The problem is the bacteria in the mouth isn’t all bad. And destroying it all creates a domino effect where one thing is impacted and then another and it goes down the line. The severity of this impact is dependent on some factors, such as your lifestyle, diet and overall health, but what this particular study revealed is the negative impact mouthwash has on our blood pressure.

There are bacteria in our mouth that aid in the production of nitric oxide, which has an effect of opening our blood vessels and lowering our blood pressure. Now this isn’t the only thing in our body that can lower blood pressure, but it does play a role and our bodies rely on it to an extent. And when this bacteria is destroyed this role was shown to be reduced by possibly 60%. For a generally healthy and active individual, maybe it wouldn’t be the biggest deal. But it should be noted. Especially for people not eating right and not exercising.

Here’s the article.
https://www.sciencealert.com/a-strange-thing-can-happen-when-you-use-mouthwash-after-you-exercise/amp

Eric13 said:

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On that note, it would be very interesting to hear some opinions from other SS on what healthy options are out there in terms of mouthwashes. Personally I have been using only water for the last while because I did not know of any safe mouthwashes aside from low-concentration H2O2 potentially.

Personally I use the Pro Health Crest stuff because I like its taste and my breath doesn't get bad throughout the day ( I only rinse at night before going to bed). However, on Amazon you can find organic mouthwashes that taste okay, usually for kids. I THINK they don't have anti bacterial chemicals but I am not 100% sure. I don't really like them and they give my mouth a chalky like feeling afterwards but maybe that will be of some help.

Nonetheless, that is some really helpful information. Thank you. :mrgreen:

Shael said:

On that note, it would be very interesting to hear some opinions from other SS on what healthy options are out there in terms of mouthwashes. Personally I have been using only water for the last while because I did not know of any safe mouthwashes aside from low-concentration H2O2 potentially.

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Well brush your teeth multiple times a day for sure. Some people swear by oil pulling as well, but again this does the same thing.

H202 is antibacterial. It destroys the cell walls of bacteria through a process called oxidation.

I suppose the best advice I would have is to not do any of these practices daily. Rather, a few times a week or whatever you feel is necessary.

Eric13 said:

I suppose the best advice I would have is to not do any of these practices daily. Rather, a few times a week or whatever you feel is necessary.

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Except brushing teeth of course!

I am using an ayurvedic mouthwash. I'm not exactly sure on the effects of the product, but I enjoy it as an alternative to mass-marketed mouthwash and thought I should at least mention it..
It is made with Neem and Peelu as the active ingredients with other herbal extracts and oils.
The brand is Auromere, they make great toothpaste as well.

Eric13 said:

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I find more and more that blanket antibacterials are more destructive than helpful. Even in the case of infections, the aftereffects are bad unless the patient uses copious amounts of pro and pre-biotics to grow the good bacteria back up.

People seem to forget that bad bacteria doesn't just grow out of thin air, rather it grows where there is a food supply for it. E. Coli will not be found on your kitchen counter unless it has fecal matter to grow with.

For the gut microbiome, bad bacteria cannot get a foothold unless you eat the junkfood necessary to fuel its growth and overpower the other populations.

With this in mind, the idea of cleaning should just be removing the food supplies of the bad bacteria, not trying to wipe out all bacteria in general.