Nayra, nurse: "If you get up and eat without brushing your teeth, you're swallowing bacteria and toxins."

It's a habit in our morning routine. Drinking a cup of coffee or eating something as soon as we open our eyes is a common gesture every morning . Many people do it even before speaking, as if the body needs it to activate the brain after hours of sleep. However, this established and socially normalized morning custom is often carried out ignoring a key step for overall well-being.

Eating breakfast without brushing your teeth first seems like a harmless gesture, but what happens while we sleep makes it anything but. During the night, saliva production naturally decreases, allowing the mouth to become an ideal environment for the proliferation of bacteria and toxins , as integrative nurse Nayra Gómez points out.

“If you wake up and eat without brushing your teeth, you're swallowing bacteria, toxins, and inflammatory compounds that accumulated overnight. All of this goes directly to your stomach and intestines and can disrupt your microbiota and increase inflammation throughout your body (acne, abdominal bloating, brain fog, fatigue),” says Gómez.

Adopt the habit of oil pulling

For this reason, she affirms that “ the first anti-inflammatory gesture of the day begins in your mouth ,” and although it may seem like an unimportant detail, “ it has a great impact on your digestive and inflammatory health .” Skipping brushing your teeth before breakfast has effects that go beyond oral hygiene. As this integrative nurse warns, the consequences are clear: “ Altered microbiota , intestinal dysbiosis, more toxic load on your liver, and yes… more silent chronic inflammation .”

It all starts in the mouth, which is why she recommends adopting a simple but effective habit like oil pulling , a traditional technique that involves rinsing with two natural oils . This ancient practice, she explains, helps reduce the toxic load accumulated overnight. “ Coconut oil is antimicrobial and antifungal , while oregano has potent anti-inflammatory and antifungal properties,” she adds. “Together, they act as a perfect team to reduce the toxic load in the mouth and prevent the proliferation of pathogens that can affect your gut microbiota,” she concludes. A small gesture with benefits that extend beyond the mouth.