Here are some more causes of black hairy tongue (lingua villosa nigra) …

5) Mouthwashes containing OXYGENATING agents can cause a black hairy tongue.

Excessive use of hydrogen peroxide is a case in point.

Chronic use can have other side effects besides a blackened tongue, including mouth ulcers and cancer.

6) Mouthwashes containing OXIDIZING agents can also cause a black hairy tongue.

Excessive use of chlorine dioxide or its “parent compound” sodium chlorite are cases in point.

Both are used to destroy volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs), a major cause of halitosis.

Do they really destroy VSCs and prevent putrefaction of the oral cavity, or do they block them from being liberated from the cysteine and methionine separated from proteinaceous substances in the mouth?

Maybe Nature has an impeccable detox plan, and humans are interfering with it.

We don’t usually try to oxygenate and oxidize the VSCs being released as flavor chemistry from our foods, most noticeable in vegetables like garlic, onions, mustard, and cruciferous vegetables.

For example, chewing broccoli releases the VSCs methanethiol (MT) and dimethyl disulfide (DMDS).

DMS (dimethyl sulfide) is a VSC.

DMSO (dimethyl disulfide) is a VSC.

MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) is a VSC.

We create VSCs by thoroughly chewing a variety of other foods too, including nuts, fruits, coffee, cocoa, shitake mushrooms, etc.

Cooking liberates VSCs.

Henk Maarse (Volatile Compounds in Foods and Beverages, 1991) wrote …

“Without doubt, many nonheterocyclic sulfur compounds play an important role in meat aroma. With low odor threshold values, relatively small amounts could have a significant effect. Some compounds may contribute directly to the meaty characteristics, while others will provide an overall sulfurous note that is a part of meat aroma. For many of these compounds, their reactivity and role as intermediates to other aroma substances is extremely important.”

VSCs prevent platelet aggregation and counteract cancer, so maybe we should think twice before destroying them with mouthwashes containing hydrogen peroxide, chlorine dioxide, or sodium chlorite.

Other mouthwashes and mouth rinses destroy VSCs too, including those containing (from A to Z) …

alcohol / chlorhexidene / fluoride / green tea / menthol / phenol / sanguinaria / triclosan / witch hazel / zinc

Excess zinc encourages tooth decay. It’s also a major contributor to Alzheimer’s disease.

So what’s the difference between oxidation and oxygenation?

Oxidation is the interaction between oxygen molecules and all the various substances that come in contact with them, from metal to tissue.

Rusting is an example of oxidation.

Oxygenation is the addition of oxygen to any medium, usually to a liquid such as blood.

Oxygen doesn’t react with the medium, it merely gets added to it.

Oxygen doesn’t form rust when it reacts with the iron in hemoglobin.

Blood is oxygenated, not oxidated.

(To Be Continued)
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