Using Mouthwash Too Often Puts You at Risk of Obesity and Diabetes

If you use mouthwash daily, you might want to start using it less often. A recent study developed by researchers from Harvard University revealed that using the product two times a day could seriously increase your chances of developing type 2 diabetes and struggling with obesity.

Mouthwash kills both good and bad bacteria

Many people use mouthwash for a better oral hygiene, as some types might prevent the teeth from accumulating plaque bacteria. However, its primary function is to maintain your breath fresh. Dentists say daily use of the product is not mandatory to maintain your oral health, and it doesn’t always keep all the bacteria away.

In fact, the substance might actually destroy some healthy bacteria. By using it too often, you risk killing some microbes which protect the body against obesity and the related diseases. The research revealed that those people who used mouthwash twice per day had 55 percent more chances to develop diabetes in three years.

This is the first study which highlights the bad effects of using this oral hygiene product. The main purpose of the oral solution is to destroy the bacteria in the mouth. However, it cannot tell the good microbes from the bad ones, so they are all annihilated. Therefore, instead of targeting only the harmful bacteria, it kills everything.

Using mouthwash twice a day increases the risk of diabetes

They reached this conclusion after studying 1,206 participants aged between 40 and 65. They were all suffering from obesity and at risk of developing diabetes. Around 17 percent of them developed diabetes before the study ended. However, the chances were of 20 percent for those who used mouthwash daily, and of 30 percent for those who used it twice a day.

The good microbes in the mouth help our bodies produce nitric oxide, which protects the body from diabetes and obesity. However, if these microbes disappear, there’s more room for the bad ones to develop. Therefore, overusing mouthwash doesn’t keep you protected.
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