Stop using mouthwash after exercise if you want low blood pressure, according to a study



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According to one study, the use of antibacterial mouthwash could reduce the benefits of exercise.

It is known that physical exertion lowers blood pressure, but the effects are greatly reduced when people use a mouthwash instead of water. A team of international scientists said the findings, published in the journal Biology of free radicals and medicine, showed the importance of oral bacteria for cardiovascular health.

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They urge health professionals to pay attention to the oral environment when they recommend interventions involving physical activity for hypertension.

The study was led by the University of Plymouth in collaboration with the Center of Genomic Regulation of Barcelona. The researchers asked 23 healthy adults to run on a treadmill for 30 minutes twice, after which they were monitored for two hours.

One, 30, 60 and 90 minutes after exercise, they were asked to rinse their mouths with a liquid – an antibacterial mouthwash or a placebo with mint-flavored water. Their blood pressure was measured and saliva and blood samples were taken before exercise and 120 minutes after exercise.

The study found that when participants flushed with placebo, the average reduction in systolic blood pressure was minus 5.2 mmHg one hour after exercise. When rinsing participants with the antibacterial mouthwash, the mean systolic blood pressure was minus 2 mmHg at the same time.

The results show that the hypotensive effect of exercise decreased by more than 60% during the first hour of recovery and completely eradicated two hours after exercise when participants received rinsing-off. antibacterial mouth.

Lead author Dr. Raul Bescos of the University of Plymouth said, "Scientists already know that blood vessels open during exercise because the production of Nitric oxide increases the diameter of the blood vessels, thus increasing blood flow to the active muscles.

"What remains mysterious is how the blood circulation stays higher after exercise, triggering in turn a hypotensive response known as post-exercise hypotension. Previous research has suggested that nitric oxide was not involved in this post-exercise response – and only during exercise – but the new study questions these views.

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"Everything is linked to the breakdown of nitric oxide into a compound called nitrate, which for years had no function in the body. But research over the past decade has shown that nitrates can be absorbed by the salivary glands and excreted through saliva in the mouth.

"Some species of bacteria in the mouth can use nitrate and convert to nitrite – a very important molecule that can improve the production of nitric oxide in the body. And when the nitrites in saliva are swallowed, part of this molecule is rapidly absorbed by the circulation and reduced to nitric oxide.

"It helps to maintain the widening of the blood vessels, which leads to a sustained decline in blood pressure after exercise. We wanted to see if blocking the ability of nitrate to convert to nitrite by inhibiting oral bacteria would have an effect on post exercise hypotension. "

Craig Cutler, co-author, said, "It's as if the mouth bacteria are the" key "to open the blood vessels. If removed, it is impossible to produce nitrite and the vessels remain in their current state.

"The next step is to study in more detail the effect of exercise on the activity of oral bacteria and on the composition of oral bacteria in people at high cardiovascular risk. "


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