Originally published December 7 2005
Cranberries could be the new strategy in improving dental hygiene
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Hyun Koo, an oral biologist at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, has informed Reuters that cranberries contain compounds that could prove useful in preventing cavities and tooth decay.
Cranberries, known for their ability to help thwart urinary tract infections, may also help prevent tooth decay and cavities, new research shows.
The same sticky compounds in the small red fruit that help keep bacteria at bay in the bladder also appear to help prevent bacteria from clinging to teeth, dental researchers reported in the January issue of the journal Caries Research.
They also found it seemed to help ward off plaque, a gooey substance formed from bits of food, saliva, and acid that can harbor bacteria and eventually irritate the gums.
"There's potential to find compounds there that prevent dental cavities," Hyun Koo, an oral biologist at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, told Reuters in an interview this week.
The ultimate goal is to extract the berry's protective properties and add them to toothpaste or mouthwash, he said, but it is still unclear exactly why the fruit is so effective.
In the meantime, Koo warned people against drinking or eating excessive amounts of cranberry-containing products.
"The biggest problem with any cranberry product is the (food) industry -- they add sugar," he said.
"Sugar is the main enemy in causing cavities."
The fruit is also loaded with natural acid that can strip away essential minerals in teeth, he added.
The results, which took about seven months to obtain, showed cranberries were about 80 percent effective in protecting teeth, Koo said.
More laboratory tests are needed to try to isolate the active compounds before clinical trials with patients can be considered, he added.
Koo's study is part of series of projects sponsored by the National Institutes of Health to study cranberries' health benefits.
The agency is also studying the fruit's impact on urinary tract infections and how it is processed by the body.
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