Don’t Use Antiseptic Mouthwash

The natural flora on our tongue (lingual bacteria) is essential for the athletic performance-enhancing effect of the nitrates in vegetables such as beetroot.

February 15, 2012

Volume 7

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- antibiotics athletes ATP beet juice beets beverages exercise juice mitochondria mouthwash nitrate nitric oxide nitrite phytonutrients saliva sports medicine vegetables
Supplementary Info
Sources Cited

Webb AJ, Patel N, Loukogeorgakis S, Okorie M, Aboud Z, Misra S, Rashid R, Miall P, Deanfield J, Benjamin N, MacAllister R, Hobbs AJ, Ahluwalia A. Acute blood pressure lowering, vasoprotective, and antiplatelet properties of dietary nitrate via bioconversion to nitrite. Hypertension. 2008 Mar;51(3):784-90. Epub 2008 Feb 4. Wink DA, Paolocci N. Mother was right: eat your vegetables and do not spit! When oral nitrate helps with high blood pressure. Hypertension. 2008 Mar;51(3):617-9. Epub 2008 Feb 4. Govoni M, Jansson EA, Weitzberg E, Lundberg JO. The increase in plasma nitrite after a dietary nitrate load is markedly attenuated by an antibacterial mouthwash. Nitric Oxide. 2008 Dec;19(4):333-7. Epub 2008 Aug 30.
Acknowledgements

Image thanks to Marie-Claire.

Michael Greger M.D.

If you’re asking yourself “what beet-related boost in athletic performance?” you may have missed the first video in this series Doping with beet juice. And if the whole “nitrate to nitrite double pass” is a mystery to you, then check out yesterday’s video. If you’re thinking “wait a second, aren’t nitrites the preservatives in cured meats that cause cancer?” then you’re way ahead of me—stay tuned to the 14 following videos in this series and feel free in the meantime to check out the hundreds of other videos on 1000+ topics.

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BPCveg

Amazing how important bacteria are proving to be!

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paul3917

Should I stop rinsing my mouth with salt water (which I find soothing to my gums) or stop chewing xylitol-flavored gum, which is supposed to kill bacteria?

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arlenesue

Are there any safe mouthwashes. I use ACT restorative. Is it harmful and kill helpful bacteria?

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lisakskinner

Would this avoidance of antibacterial products include the triclosan often used in toothpaste? Should we all go back to brushing our teeth with baking soda?

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Toxins

That is not necessary. If you brush your teeth at night, you will wake up in the morning with bad breath because the bacteria have recolonized. It is relatively easy to reacquire mouth flora. I just don’t brush my teeth in the morning if i plan on hard physical activity that day.

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http://healthwhileuwait.com terrylm

I don’t use soap on most of the body, now, as I shower, with the idea that the natural skin flora is maintained and can do it’s job. Have you anything on soaps and this matter?

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Next Up »
- Out of the Lab Onto the Track
  
  Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover studies convinced the scientific establishment that nitrate-rich vegetables such as beets could noticeably improve athletic performance.
- Asparagus Pee
  
  Young infants and perhaps those with recurrent oxalate kidney stones should avoid beets, but most commonly the chief side effect is beeturia, the harmless passage of pink urine, though not all are affected, akin to the malodorous urine ("stinky pee") that sometimes results from asparagus consumption.
- Pretty in Pee-nk
  
  Beeturia, the passage of pink urine after beetroot consumption, is a reminder that phytonutrients circulate throughout our bloodstream, explaining the connection between "garlic breath" and the use of garlic as an adjunct treatment for pneumonia.
- Hearts Shouldn’t Skip a Beet
  
  The nitrate in vegetables, which the body can turn into the vasodilator nitric oxide, may help explain the role dark green leafy vegetables play in the prevention and treatment of hypertension (high blood pressure) and heart disease.
- Vegetables Rate by Nitrate
  
  If nitrates can boost athletic performance and protect against heart disease, which vegetables have the most: beans, bulb vegetables (like garlic and onions), fruiting vegetables (like eggplant and squash), greens (such as arugula), mushrooms, root vegetables (such as carrots and beets), or stem vegetables (such as celery and rhubarb)?
« Previous
- Priming the Proton Pump
  
  To understand how beets could reduce the oxygen cost of exercise while improving athletic performance, one must review the biochemistry of energy production (ATP synthase) and the body's conversion of nitrates to nitrites into nitric oxide.
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Don’t Use Antiseptic Mouthwash

Tags

Supplementary Info

Sources Cited

Acknowledgements

Video Topics

Highest Rated Video for this Topic

Next Up »

Out of the Lab Onto the Track

Asparagus Pee

Pretty in Pee-nk

Hearts Shouldn’t Skip a Beet

Vegetables Rate by Nitrate

« Previous

Priming the Proton Pump

Blog from the Author

Latest Nutrition DVD now available (proceeds to charity)