Swilling mouthwash each morning could raise your risk of heart disease, one of the world's leading experts claims. 

一位世界顶尖的专家称，每天早上用漱口水漱口会增加患心脏病的风险。

Dr Nathan Bryan, based at the University of Texas, Austin, studies the role nitric oxide - which helps cells communicate - plays in the body's vital organs. 

He said daily rinsing and gargling, which is meant to eliminate bad breath, also rids the body of the important molecule. 

The bacteria it kills provide the body with a constant supply of nitric oxide, which controls and regulates blood pressure. 

Controlling blood pressure is known to be key to preventing cardiovascular disease - the world's leading killer, and strokes. 

But Dr Bryan also said that poor oral hygiene, such as not using mouthwash, also disrupts the production of nitric oxide. 

He made the claim in a lecture at the American Naturopathic Medical Association's 36th Annual Convention in Las Vegas. 

Dr Bryan told attendees: 'Recent discoveries reveal that oral bacteria provide the human body with continuous sources of nitric oxide. 

'Nitric oxide is one of the most important molecules produced in the human body. It controls and regulates blood pressure and is a major factor in preventing CVD.'