Everyone knows about cleaning their mouth with regular dental care. But there is a new tool you can use now. While nebulizers have been used mostly for asthma and a little bit for respiratory infections, a new use for these simple inexpensive devices has emerged. In this article I will share how to use a nebulizer for better gut health.
The Mouth-Gut Disease Connection
We are becoming more aware of the connection between germs in the mouth and diseases in the gut and internal organs far from the mouth. This is an area of active research. While the mouth-gut barrier does exist in the form of stomach acid that destroys viable bacteria, it is not impermeable. That is the whole concept of probiotics. We take precautions to protect the life-promoting probiotics so they do pass through stomach acid and survive bile so that they can populate and multiply in the large intestine. But, if probiotics can do it, can’t other bacteria survive this journey as well? As we pointed out in a previous blog, as much as 1 in 3 swallowed bacteria do make the passage to the distal colon and account for at least 2 percent of the total bacteria population in the large intestine.
And more evidence is mounting that bacteria that wreak havoc in the mouth by causing dental cavities, gingivitis, and periodontitis contribute to inflammatory conditions in the gut such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Even functional dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome may be amplified by oral bacteria that have colonized inappropriately further down in the gut. Bacteria such as Streptococcus mutans, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans have all been implicated in contributing to gastrointestinal diseases.
Take Decisive Action to Curb Bad Germs in the Gut
So, gingivitis and periodontitis are not just oral health problems. These oral diseases have strong negative systemic effects. And aggressive action should be taken to improve the health status of your gums and teeth.
Notice I said, “aggressive action” but not medical action. There are times for root planing and deep cleaning of the teeth. But it isn’t enough to just keep your bi-yearly appointments with your dental hygienist. You need to use stronger measures to eradicate the populations of potentially harmful bacteria in your mouth and replace them with beneficial bacteria that help protect your overall health. Your hygienist can’t do all of that for you.
Five Action Steps
Here are 5 action steps that will help improve your own oral microbiome.
(1) Use a toothpaste with xylitol for antibacterial action.
All toothpaste and toothbrushes help some with this, as they disrupt the biofilm left on your teeth by bacteria. Even a toothbrush with just water can be helpful to break down biofilms. But you can do better.
Xylitol is a 5-carbon sugar that isn’t metabolized by bacteria but rather plugs up their biosynthetic pathways and ends up killing them. So xylitol is a great ingredient to look for in your toothpaste. Xylitol has been proven to reduce populations of negative bacteria in the mouth.
(2) Take an Oral Probiotic
Second, you can take a chewable oral probiotic that is formulated with strains of beneficial bacteria that preferentially colonize in the mouth. Lactobacillus species such as L. rhamnosus, L. paracasei, L. salivarius, and L. plantarum can be used with great benefit for oral health. These good bacteria compete for binding sites with negative bacteria and keep them in check. Hallelujah Diet has an excellent formula for Oral Health Probiotic. You might want to check out their offering.
(3) Use Ora-Shield for Gum Health
Third, you can use Ora-Shield to balance out bacteria. The essential oils in Ora-Shield, in a base of medium chain triglyceride (MCT) oil, can be worked into the crevices in teeth and down into the gingival pockets and around teeth where periodontitis has taken hold. Ora-Shield can help restore healthy pink gums that don’t bleed. Oregano oil and tea tree oil have been used to balance microbial populations in a variety of contexts, so it is not surprising that they would work in the mouth as well.
(4) Use a Tongue Scraper to Lower Bacterial Burden
If you have health problems, you might want to look in the mirror at your tongue. Do you have a thick coating on the back of your tongue? Scraping your tongue is easy. You can get a special tongue scraper to really get the junk off if you have a thick coating. But you can just brush your tongue as well with your toothbrush. Just clean it well before brushing your teeth after scraping your tongue.
(5) Use a Nebulizer for Better Gut Health
Fourth, you can use a nebulizer with hydrogen peroxide to reduce the populations of nasty bacteria in the mouth and in the upper respiratory tract. People think of nebulizers for asthma, but they have great utility beyond just albuterol treatments. A variety of substances like vitamin C, colloidal silver, iodine, and hydrogen peroxide can be placed in the nebulizing cup and applied to the mouth and respiratory tract.
Dr. Thomas Levy realized that nebulized hydrogen peroxide was a great treatment for respiratory viruses and wrote a whole book on the topic entitled Rapid Virus Recovery. But he also experienced himself that the hydrogen peroxide therapy was able to overcome a long-standing infection in his own respiratory tract by breaking down the bacteria’s protective biofilm. A long-standing respiratory tract infection can be a source of continual seeding of the gut with nasty bacteria, so having an effective way to get rid of them is a powerful and important step for recovering excellent gut health.
How to Use A Nebulizer for Better Gut Health
Here is a simple protocol to get you started.
Mix 1 teaspoon of distilled water and 1 teaspoon of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide in the nebulizer cup. Turn on the nebulizer and breath in the vapor. An effective session could last 15 to 30 minutes. Repeat daily. Dr. Levy said it took several weeks for his long-term infection to clear up, so keep at it.
Summary
Not only do you understand the connection between bad bacteria in the mouth and inflammatory and painful gut conditions, but you have tools to rebuild your health. You can use xylitol toothpaste, oral probiotics, tongue scraping, Ora-Shield, and a nebulizer to fight back. You may already be doing some of these steps. Add in the nebulizer to get to the bacteria that you can’t reach with your toothbrush and tongue scraper and take back your health.
The nebulizer can be a handy tool you can add to your box of tools for obtaining optimal health. Because when you have great health, you have energy for all the things you want to accomplish in life—positive, loving relationships and financial stability and even financial freedom. In short, investing in your health makes the abundant accumulation of True Wealth possible.
