Healthier Gums: How bad do you want them?
It’s no secret that a better diet leads to better health. This study looked at the effect a better diet (focusing on vegetables, fruits, wholemeal products, potatoes, legumes, spices and water) had on patients with periodontal disease. They found “a significant reduction of probing pocket depth, gingival inflammation…and proinflammatory cytokines” which basically means the people on a healthier diet ended up with better gum health. The realist in me knows people aren’t going to “vegan-up” just to get better gums. So what simple strategies can help? The reason we brush our teeth is to disrupt and remove the bacteria that causes gum disease and decay. Rinsing your mouth with green tea for 5 minutes has been found to reduce the number of those bacteria by half. How does it compare against other mouth rinses? This study showed green tea worked better at reducing bacteria levels than chlorhexidine (often considered the gold standard) without the many side effects. If you want to supercharge your green tea mouth rinse you can add ½ a teaspoon of AMLA powder, which has been found to suppress the bacteria’s plaque-forming ability. This excellent video has more information on this strategy and the science behind it.
What if you swallow the green tea (and AMLA) after you rinse with it? Well, that might stop you getting cancer. Population studies have linked green tea consumption with lower cancer risk. Population studies don’t prove cause and effect though, but this study does. In a group of men with “early” prostate cancer, those consuming green tea were ten times less likely to actually get prostate cancer! Do I have to repeat that? Ten times less likely! As the proud owner of a prostate, I find that very interesting (and encouraging). Even a year after the study finished, nearly 90% of the green tea group remained cancer-free, while over 50% of the control group developed prostate cancer, which equated to an overall 80% decrease in prostate cancer for those consuming green tea. This excellent video covers the topic in more depth.
What’s This Got to Do with Teeth?
Well, it’s mostly about teeth this time, with some “boy bits” care thrown in. My suggestion is to start drinking green tea. Make sure you swish it around your mouth when you do. You could put a couple of green tea teabags in a water bottle with ½ a teaspoon of AMLA powder and sip on it during the day.
(Dr T is dentist Brett Taylor. After being told he was probably going to die a lot sooner than he expected (or wanted) he suddenly became focused on health. Go figure)
Dr T Simple Health Checklist
- Eat 4 Brazil Nuts once a month to reduce cholesterol
- Eat 4 tablespoons of flax meal (30g) a day to reduce blood pressure
- Take ½-1 teaspoon of ginger per day
- Take ½ a teaspoon of AMLA powder per day
- Put 2 Green Tea Bags in a water bottle and sip during the day