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Home / The Blog / Tagged: Cardiovascular Disease
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Simple Maths for Men: Scrape your Tongue + Eat Rocket = Boost Performance

Ask a Man why they should clean their tongue and they will mumble something about bad breath.

They're not wrong.

The tongue is an excellent trap for food, coffee and alcohol debris that, if ignored, bacteria will convert to stale breath.

But ... what most Men DON’T realise is a simple and regular tongue scrape can have wider health benefits - that impacts on sports fitness, recovery, heart health and much more ...

Yes you read it right - all of these benefits from a simple and inexpensive tongue scrape ...

OK - it's not just about a clean tongue,  the other part of the equation is you need to eat the right 'Greens' - rich in Nitrates: Kale, Spinach and Rocket / Arugula. (So it turns out the advice to; "Eat your Greens" was spot on!)

What follows is based on the extensive research of Dr Nathan Bryan an International leader in molecular medicine and Nitric Oxide biochemistry.

Dr Bryan’s work shows how Nitric Oxide is a ‘miracle molecule’ providing a surprising array of benefits throughout our body.

The downside of this is if our Nitric Oxide levels decline we can then suffer issues – many serious. 

For those of us over 40 years of age, this becomes more crucial, since our Nitric Oxide levels drop as we age as much as half - from peak levels. Lack of exercise, poor diet and using antiseptic mouthwash can also adversely impact our Nitric Oxide levels.

Dr Nathan Bryan summarised the issue as regards Men in a Podcast in March 2019

“When you can't make Nitric Oxide, your athletic performance will decline and your cardio vascular performance declines ... it is very clear.”

Amazingly his research shows;

“Up to 50% of our daily Nitric Oxide production can be from 'good’ oral bacteria"

To be clear that's a certain type of bacteria in our mouth ... (see footnote 1.)

This is the bit we simply LOVE! 

And a clean tongue - from a simple tongue scrape - can have a BIG part to play in actually increasing Nitric Oxide production by our body!

As the World's oldest Producer of quality Tongue Scrapers - you can now see why we love this research!

As Dr Nathan Bryan explains;

"Tongue scraping to remove the 'bad' bacteria, food particles and debris (on the tongue) allows for the 'good' bacteria to flourish and generate Nitric Oxide"

(The precise chemical process as explained by Dr Nathan Bryan - and known as the Nitrate-Nitrite-Nitric Oxide pathway - is; 'Good' Oral Bacteria are 'Nitrate Reducers' that generate Nitrite as a by-product of converting ingested Nitrate-rich food, known as 'Arginine', which then builds up in our saliva. Once swallowed these Nitrites mix with stomach acid to produce Nitric Oxide – which then enters our blood stream).

If you prefer, here's the science on our Explainer Video:

 

 

                                     (Part of the AMANO 'Core' range - from £11 to £48)

So how can an increased level of Nitric Oxide actually help improve Men's overall sports fitness, recovery and beyond?

Here are 4 ways Nitric Oxide will help improve Men's Health & Wellbeing:

1.Nitric Oxide (NO) improves sexual function 

"Penile erection is a haemodynamic process, involving increased arterial inflow and restricted venous outflow, coordinated with corpus cavernosum smooth muscle relaxation. Nitric oxide (NO) has recently been recognised to play a key role in the physiology of penile erection."

(Cardiovascular Research, Volume 43, Issue 3, August 1999)

Translation: Increasing Nitric Oxide production can improve blood flow to the sex organ and so engorgement and so performance. Beyond the age of 40 over 50% of Men (in the USA) have issues with Erectile Dysfunction (ED).

2. Improve athletic performance and exercise capacity

"It is known that moderate physical exercise can prevent heart disease and many other diseases. This is due to the production of Nitric Oxide (NO). This is why exercise is medicine. However, when people do not exercise, they can develop endothelial dysfunction or loss of NO. When you lose the ability to produce NO, you become exercise intolerant and are unable to maintain any exercise regimen. Restoring NO production will allow the blood vessels to deliver more oxygen and remove waste products to working muscles and improve exercise capacity."

(Nathan Bryan PH.D Blog; Top Ten Reasons Nitric Oxide improves Woman's Health, February 2019)

Translation: Increasing Nitric Oxide production can improve fitness levels.

3. Improves healing and recovery from injury

"Our own resident stem cells are responsible for repairing injured or worn out cells and tissues. Nitric Oxide (NO) is the signal that tells stem cells to mobilise and go to the site of injury and differentiate and repair dysfunctional cells and tissue. If your body can’t make NO, then the body loses the signal to repair itself. Restoring the production of NO will allow for much faster healing and quicker recovery from injury".

(Nathan Bryan PH.D Blog; Top Ten Reasons Nitric Oxide improves Woman's Health, February 2019 )

Translation: Increasing Nitric Oxide production can improve recovery from sports injury and slow the ageing process.

4. Prevent the number one killer, heart disease

"It is crystal clear that maintaining endothelial function and proper Nitric Oxide (NO) production can not only prevent heart disease but reverse and cure existing heart disease. NO prevents the inflammation, oxidative stress and immune dysfunction that occurs in heart disease.”

(Nathan Bryan PH.D Blog; Top Ten Reasons Nitric Oxide improves Woman's Health, February 2019)

Translation: Increasing Nitric Oxide production can improve heart health and prevent the number one killer of Men and Woman!

(Video with kind permission of Dr Nathan Bryan)

It's incredible to think that a simple tongue scrape can help increase your daily Nitric Oxide levels - with all the health benefits outlined above. 
Owning an Italian crafted AMANO Tongue Cleanser is really an investment in your very own Nitric Oxide production plant !

But remember you still need some raw materials.

Dr Nathan Bryan recommends these foods, which are rich in Nitrates:

1. Kale

2. Spinach

3. Rocket/ Arugula

And these are his absolute No No's

Do not use antiseptic mouthwash or fluoride (on a toothbrush to clean the tongue) because these chemicals kill the 'good' oral bacteria that produce Nitric Oxide.

So in summary, follow this simple and inexpensive advice and your performance on the sports field and beyond will Rocket ...

Finally we are grateful to Dr Nathan Bryan for allowing us to reproduce his work and trialling our 100% Austenitic Steel Neoclassic AMANO

We close with his kind endorsement …

"I personally use the AMANO tongue scraper daily and highly recommend it"

        Dr NATHAN BRYAN, Baylor School of Medicine, Texas, USA

Why choose AMANO?

  • Crafted in Italy, the AMANO has been designed to give a superior and visibly effective performance
  • Which will take you less than 5 seconds (really - it's that quick)
  • Research has shown this routine is almost twice as effective as using a toothbrush
  • And with no GAG effect you will feel more relaxed about tongue cleaning as a daily routine

Using an AMANO is very quick and easy ...

Care to visit our SHOP? Click here

And get 15% off our AMANO range with this Code: SCRAPE15%OFF

Footnote 1.
In case you were wondering, the other half of our daily Nitric Oxide needs is made by a process known as, the 'Nitric Oxide synthase pathway'.
Basically this is an enzyme found in our endothelial cells, the cells that line all blood vessels throughout the body, that converts L-Arginine into Nitric Oxide.
Your New Year Exercise Regime will Lower Blood Pressure (and so will Tongue Scraping!)

Your new 2021 Exercise regime can be fun, sociable and healthy.

(But, beware of what you do to remove post-exercise toxicity in the mouth)

The medical evidence strongly supports the view that, ‘exercise will reduce our blood pressure’ and so ‘deliver health benefits such as better cardiovascular health’.

The reason exercise leads to lower blood pressure has been explained by Dr Raul Bescos, Lecturer in Dietetics and Physiology at the University of Plymouth and Lead Author of a new study in Science Daily:

"Scientists know that blood vessels open up during exercise, as the production of Nitric Oxide increases the diameter of the blood vessels (known as vasodilation), increasing blood flow circulation to active muscles".

That’s good to hear, because cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the BIGGEST killer of Men & Woman in the UK & USA.

Now imagine this.

You finish that healthy jog, gym class or football game, feeling very self-satisfied, but then notice a stale toxic taste in your mouth (its because your saliva has dried out allowing toxicity to build up).

What do you do?

Reach for some antibacterial mouthwash perhaps?

NO!!!

Medical Research shows that ALL the blood pressure lowering benefits of exercise can be destroyed if you do this!

The new University of Plymouth study, by Dr Raul Bescos, has managed to quantify the blood pressure-lowering effect of exercise when people rinse their mouths with antibacterial mouthwash, rather than water.

In the study, 23 adults exercised and then their blood pressure was tested under different scenarios - using an antibacterial mouthwash, a placebo and mint water.

The results showed that, when an antibacterial mouthwash was used (0.2% chlorhexidine), the blood pressure-lowering effect of exercise was diminished by more than 60% over the first hour of post exercise recovery.

And totally abolished two hours after exercise, when participants were given the antibacterial mouthwash.

That is a significant drop!

What’s going on?

(AMANO advocates will already know this, following the work of Dr Nathan Bryan, which we have showcased)

As we have seen, up to 50% of our DAILY Nitric Oxide production comes from ‘good’ Oral Bacteria – that’s Bacteria in our mouth! 

(See Note 1. if you want the Science behind this). 

And Bacteria activity and hence capacity to produce Nitric Oxide increases with exercise.

(See Note 2. if you want the Science behind this).

If you prefer, we have a neat Explainer Video that demonstrates the Science:

 

 

HOWEVER - using an antibacterial mouthwash will KILL off this ‘good’ Bacteria - thus reducing Nitric Oxide production!

As Dr Nathan Bryan reports in 'News Medical Life Sciences';

"The use of antiseptic mouthwash can kill commensal Bacteria and disrupt Nitric Oxide production putting patients at risk for CVD"

Top-Line: Using an antibacterial mouthwash can negate the blood flow benefits of exercise!

So what to do if you feel your mouth is stale post exercise?

Do what I do – use an AMANO Tongue Scraper ...

  

Don’t take my word for it – you will actually be helping your Nitric Oxide Production at the same time!

This is because, as Dr Nathan Bryan has gone onto show in his research, having a clean oral environment, for instance by scraping the Tongue, will actually increase our Nitric Oxide levels - and so further lower blood pressure.

He reported in ‘Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology’:

“Tongue cleaning frequency was a predictor of changes in systolic blood pressure and Tongue Microbiome composition. From our analysis, regular Tongue cleaning results in a Tongue Microbiome that has a greater ability to reduce Nitrite to Nitric Oxide, and conversely, failure to clean the Tongue daily results in a Microbiome composition that is less favourable to Nitric Oxide production."

Top-Line: Clean your Tongue and boost Nitric Oxide levels! (As well as removing bad breath)

If you are interested in reducing your blood pressure, in a natural 100% chemical free way, why not try using a Tongue Scraper?

Preferably an AMANO we would hope ...

How to use an AMANO Tongue Cleanser

If you are completely new to the tongue 'scraping' experience, we would suggest you hold the head of your AMANO under a warm running tap first - to provide an additional level of 'lubrication'.

This is how easy and quick it is to use an AMANO (we prefer holding a handle in each hand ... but each to their own)

Are you Intrigued?

Click Here to visit our SHOP 

 

NOTE 1: What is the precise chemical process for creating Nitric Oxide? Dr Nathan Bryan explains:

"The process is known as the 'Nitrate-Nitrite-Nitric Oxide pathway'. Good Oral Bacteria are 'Nitrate Reducers' that generate Nitrite as a by-product of converting ingested Nitrate-rich food, known as 'Arginine', which then builds up in our saliva. Once swallowed these Nitrites mix with stomach acid to produce Nitric Oxide – which then enters our blood stream".

NOTE 2: Why does exercise boost Nitric Oxide? Dr Nathan Bryan explains:

"When we begin to exercise, the increase in shear stress in the lining of the blood vessels tells the Endothelial Cells to make Nitric Oxide which lowers blood pressure.  That is the primary pathway.  Also circulating Nitrite that comes from the Oral Bacteria can be reduced to Nitric Oxide during exercise, especially under low Oxygen conditions and this will lower blood pressure".