Brush your teeth with tea

It seems like barely a week goes by that I don’t read about some new study that has revealed yet another healthy reason to drink tea – especially antioxidant-rich green tea, purported to (among other things) protect your heart, help fight cancer and strengthen your immune system.

Now get ready for tea toothpaste.

Researchers from the College of Dentistry; University of Illinois at Chicago, report that drinking or rinsing your mouth with green, oolong, or black tea may help prevent cavities. And the components that make these teas do their cavity-fighting stuff are none other than the familiar antioxidant compounds called polyphenols, which are abundant in the plant that green, oolong and black teas all come from.

Black tea is processed by fermentation, while oolong is only partially fermented, and green tea is completely unfermented. For the purposes of reducing cavities, researchers say that the only difference in the three is the taste – neither one of them provides more protection against plaque or cavities than the other two.

So with cooler weather upon us, we have yet another reason to enjoy a soothing cup of tea. But keep in mind that the Chicago researchers used “leaded” tea for their study, so if you take your tea decaffeinated, it’s possible that you may be missing out on the dental benefits. That’s not to say that the caffeine provides any of the anti-cavity protection – but until a study is conducted with decaf, we won’t know for sure. And these results likely wouldn’t apply to any types of herbal teas. Sorry, Chamomile

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute