How mouth bacteria affect blood pressure
Altered Oral Nitrate Reduction and Bacterial Profiles in Hypertensive Women Predict Blood Pressure Lowering Following Acute Dietary Nitrate Supplementation
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Hypertensive women had significantly lower levels of Veillonella bacteria (p=0.007) and salivary nitrite (p=0.006)
Many people assume high blood pressure is solely due to diet or genetics, but this shows a direct link to specific oral bacteria that help regulate blood pressure.
Practical Takeaways
Try using a nitrate-free mouthwash to preserve oral bacteria that help convert dietary nitrate to nitrite
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Hypertensive women had significantly lower levels of Veillonella bacteria (p=0.007) and salivary nitrite (p=0.006)
Many people assume high blood pressure is solely due to diet or genetics, but this shows a direct link to specific oral bacteria that help regulate blood pressure.
Practical Takeaways
Try using a nitrate-free mouthwash to preserve oral bacteria that help convert dietary nitrate to nitrite
Publication
Journal
Hypertension
Year
2023
Authors
T. Willmott, L. Ormesher, Andrew J. McBain, G. Humphreys, Jenny E. Myers, Gurdeep Singh, Jon O. Lundberg, E. Weitzberg, C. Nihlen, Elizabeth C. Cottrell
Related Content
Claims (10)
Bacteria in the mouth help regulate blood pressure by converting nitrate to nitrite, which is part of the body's natural blood pressure control system.
Women with high blood pressure have much lower levels of nitrite in their saliva than women with normal blood pressure.
Women with high blood pressure have much less of the bacteria Veillonella in their mouths compared to women with normal blood pressure.
Whether a woman is pregnant or not doesn't seem to affect how well her mouth bacteria can convert nitrate to nitrite.
Women with high blood pressure tend to have slightly lower mouth bacteria activity for converting nitrate to nitrite compared to women with normal blood pressure, though this difference isn't quite statistically significant.