In ads on TV, it all looks so simple. People use mouthwash, it instantly neutralises all the nasty bacteria hiding in their mouths, and – just like that – their dental hygiene is assured.

在電視廣告里，什么東西看起來都很簡單。人們使用漱口水以后，隱藏在口腔中的有害細菌立刻就被清除了。就這樣，他們的口腔衛(wèi)生得到了保證。

But what's really going on when you rinse a cap-load of antibacterial chemicals around your mouth? What does that to your body, and to other kinds of microorganisms that may actually be beneficial to health?

但你用一瓶蓋的抗菌化學品沖洗口腔時究竟會發(fā)生什么呢?對你的身體會有什么影響?對其他有益健康的微生物又會有什么影響呢?

As a study showed last year, the downstream effects can be surprising, and far-reaching too, affecting much more than just your dental wellbeing.

去年一項研究表明，下游效應令人意外、影響深遠，而且影響的不僅僅是口腔健康。

In an experiment led by scientists from the UK and Spain, researchers found that the simple act of using mouthwash after exercising can reduce one of the benefits of exercise: lowering blood pressure.

英國和西班牙的科學家進行了一項實驗，研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)鍛煉后使用漱口水這一簡單的行為會降低運動帶來的一種好處：降血壓。

When you exercise, your blood vessels open in response to the production of nitric oxide, which increases the diameter of blood vessels. This process is called vasodilation, and it increases blood flow circulation to active muscles.

鍛煉時，血管會因一氧化氮的產(chǎn)生而打開，血管直徑擴大。這一過程被稱為血管舒張，能促進活躍肌肉的血液循環(huán)。

For a long time, researchers thought this only happened during exercise, but in more recent years, evidence has shown that circulation stays high (meaning blood pressure is lowered) even after exercise – thanks to how bacteria interact with a compound called nitrate, which forms when nitric oxide degrades.

很長時間以來，研究人員以為這只發(fā)生在運動期間。但近些年，有證據(jù)表明甚至在鍛煉之后血液循環(huán)依然很快(這意味著血壓下降了)，這都是因為細菌在和一種叫作硝酸鹽的化合物發(fā)生相互作用。硝酸鹽是在一氧化氮降解時形成的。

"Research over the last decade has shown that nitrate can be absorbed in the salivary glands and excreted with saliva in the mouth," explains physiology specialist Raul Bescos from Plymouth University.

普利茅斯大學生理學專家Raul Bescos解釋說：“過去十年的一項研究表明，硝酸鹽能被唾液腺吸收，并在口中隨唾液分泌�！�

"Some species of bacteria in the mouth can use nitrate and convert into nitrite – a very important molecule that can enhance the production of nitric oxide in the body."

“口腔中一些細菌可以利用硝酸鹽，轉換成亞硝酸鹽，這種重要的微粒可以提高人體內一氧化氮的產(chǎn)生。”

Once nitrite is produced and swallowed with saliva, it becomes absorbed into blood circulation and reduces back to nitric oxide, which keeps blood vessels wide and lowers blood pressure.

一旦產(chǎn)生亞硝酸鹽，并隨唾液一起吞咽，就會進入血液循環(huán)中，還原為一氧化氮，這樣可以保持血管寬闊，降低血壓。

But according to this small study, it looks like this biological mechanism can be significantly interrupted if anti-bacterial mouthwash gets added into the post-exercise mix.

但這項小型研究顯示，如果運動后喝抗菌漱口水，這種生物學機制會大大減少。