Oral rinses reduce the blood pressure-lowering effect of exercise

Exercise lowers blood pressure - this is well known. The values are indeed higher during the exercise session, which is a completely normal regulatory mechanism, but blood pressure usually drops below the level it was at before physical activity after exercise. Additionally, exercise has a positive long-term effect on blood pressure.

However, English researchers found that an antiseptic mouthwash nullifies this effect.

They observed 19 young and healthy volunteers who did not use mouthwash in the first observation week. In the second week, the participants used chlorhexidine-containing mouthwash. The first week served to collect baseline values.

Chlorhexidine inhibits bacteria in the oral cavity that convert nitrate to nitrite. Nitrite, in turn, is a precursor to the vasodilating nitric oxide (NO). The researchers attribute the increase in blood pressure in the mouthwash group to this. The mouthwash prevented nitrite production in the oral cavity by 90 percent.

Another study supports this finding. Here, 23 healthy adults were sent to the treadmill for 30 minutes and then asked to rinse their mouths with mouthwash immediately afterward and then after 60 and 90 minutes. However, part of the solutions offered contained only the control drink, while the other part was the mouthwash being tested. The participants could not tell which sample they received in this way. Blood pressure was measured for all participants before and one and two hours after the workout.

The blood pressure values of the participants who rinsed their mouths with the control solution had, as expected, decreased after the workout. On average, the values in this group were 5.2 mmHg lower than before. This level remained stable even two hours after the workout.

The individuals who used the mouthwash after the workout achieved only an average blood pressure reduction of 2 mmHg, which had already returned to baseline by the last measurement after two hours.

This effect is due to the aforementioned inhibited conversion of nitrate/nitrite to nitric oxide. To provide the muscles with sufficient oxygen during exertion, nitric oxide is produced in greater amounts during exercise, which is known to dilate blood vessels. According to the researchers' findings, the bacteria in the oral cavity are significantly involved in supporting this conversion from nitrate to nitrite and then to nitric oxide. If these are hindered in their work by a chlorhexidine-containing mouthwash, the blood vessels cannot be sufficiently dilated, and the blood pressure reduction after exercise is largely absent.

Since beetroot also works through this mechanism and can promote blood pressure reduction, it is possible that using a chlorhexidine-containing mouthwash after consuming beetroot can nullify this positive effect.

Sources

By Sabine Croci. This article is medically reviewed. Last updated (04/2024).
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Oral rinses reduce the blood pressure-lowering effect of exercise

Sources

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