My friend had some interesting comments about/in addition to this post
From: Jason Brightwell
Subject: Nutrition
Date/Time 2007-02-09 13:36:25
Remote IP: 151.199.192.181
Message
This guy makes some really good points. Here's another one that I've been doing for about a year now. I was a die hard Listerine user for many years, but would always notice a foul taste/smell from the back of my mouth usually an hour after using the Listerine. I also had a roommate that had halitosis so terribly that if he was talking to you within 20 feet you found yourself holding your breath until he stopped talking. Then you'd sneak in a quick breath and hope it didn't gag you. He used Listerine 5-6 times a day, even kept a bottle with him in his van.
One day I got brave and decided to try Hydrogen Peroxide instead. Afterall, it's good on cuts and scraps to kill bacteria, the bottle says it can be used orally (just don't swallow it), and you can get a HUGE bottle for only $0.99. After a week, that funky odor/taste was gone. I would take a swig, gargle for 30 seconds, spit, take another swig, swish for 30 seconds, rinse with plain water.
Months later, I learned why this worked. Here's a few things you need to know:
1. Your mouth has both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria in it. (aerobic are good, anaerobic are bad)
2. Listerine's active ingredient is alcohol
3. Hydrogen Peroxide's active ingredient is oxygen
4. Alcohol kills aerobic bacteria and does nothing to anaerobic bacteria
5. Oxygen kills anaerobic bacteria, but helps aerobic bacteria
6. Anaerobic bacteria cause tooth decay, halitosis, and gingivitis
7. Aerobic bacteria are harmless and probably beneficial
Aerobic bacteria use oxygen in their metabolism. They need oxygen to survive, just like we do. That's why some people call doing a cardio workout, aerobics. It means to use oxygen. Anaerobic bacteria do not use oxygen, in fact, the presence of strong concentrations of oxygen is lethal to anaerobic bacteria.
So when you use Listerine, you kill the good (aerobic) bacteria and the bad bacteria (anaerobic) survive. Your breath is fresh for a little while as the mint oils and other flavors cover up the bad odors coming from your mouth caused by the anaerobic bacteria. Eventually the mint and flavors are gone, leaving you with a not-so-fresh mouth, so you rinse with more Listerine. It's a perfect product for making money. They tell everyone it kills bacteria....which it does (the good ones anyway), leaves your breath minty fresh (for a little while), and the minty fresh feeling lasts long enough that you think your bad breath is your fault and you need more Listerine to cure it. What a perfect way to keep people hooked on that product.
When you use hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), the bubbles (foam) are oxygen bubbles (O2). For those chemistry buffs:
2 H2O2 --> 2 H2O + O2
Agitating (swishing, gargling) hydrogen peroxide yields pure water and oxygen gas bubbles. [Light and heat also release the oxygen, which is why it comes in a brown bottle.] The oxygen gas bubbles kill the bad (anaerobic) bacteria and help out the good (aerobic) bacteria. So the result is bad bacteria are killed and the good ones are left alone. One other benefit is that the oxygen bubbles can remove stains from your teeth as well. In almost all tooth whiteners, hydrogen peroxide is the active ingredient; of course it's more concentrated in those type of products. Have you heard of Oxyclean? Same idea. The oxygen released in Oxyclean is what gets the stains out of clothing and carpet, as long as they are organic based stains. So using hydrogen peroxide as a rinse and gargle will not only completely get rid of your bad breath, but will eventually whiten your teeth over time. And, it's CHEAP!
I practice what I preach. When I come up with seemingly lame brain ideas, I do alot of research and then try it myself for a while to make sure everything works well and there are no side effects. By the way, rinsing and gargling for 30 seconds each is only for the first few weeks. After that, you can step it down. I only use hydrogen peroxide now a couple times a week, and for only 12-15 seconds.
I hope this was helpful.
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