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Green tea has long been a staple in Asian countries. As the beverage
has become more widespread in the United States and elsewhere, so too
have studies that report its health benefits for everything from weight
loss to prevention of cancer, cardiovascular disease and now gum
disease.
Green tea gets a good review in the Journal of
Periodontology. The
March issue includes a study which analyzed a number of lifestyle
factors for 940 middle-age Japanese men, including tooth brushing,
smoking and green tea consumption. It found that participants who
drank green tea had less peritonitis or gum disease. Periodontitis is a
chronic inflammatory disease that affects the gums and bone supporting
the teeth. It's caused by bacteria in the mouth and is made worse by
poor oral hygiene.
Journal editor Kenneth Kornman says the presence of
a compound in green tea called catechin may explain its preventative
feature.
"And that particular chemical, when purified and
studied in the laboratory, has extensive ability to reduce inflammation
throughout the body and also the ability to inhibit the growth of
certain bacteria that may be involved in certain diseases like gum
disease," he says.
Kornman says the study underscores the
connection between healthy gums and a healthy body. He says chronic
inflammatory conditions like gum disease, heart disease and Alzheimers
are interrelated.
"Each one of these chronic inflammatory
diseases does tax your body in terms of the overall inflammatory burden
and load that your body is trying to deal with."
That could be
reason enough to start drinking green tea, although Kornman points out
that it is no substitute for good oral hygiene and regular visits to
the dentist.
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