Dental health is important to all of us. We buy special toothpaste, mouthwash, dental floss and rinsing agents to help ensure that our smile is white, our teeth are cavity free and our breath is fresh. But, did you know that drinking tea may be one of the best (and simplest) things you can do to protect your teeth?
Well, it's true. Tea has been shown to offer protection to our teeth. Tea is a natural source of fluoride, which is known to protect against tooth decay. This is great news for children, who need significant amounts of fluoride in order for tooth enamel to harden properly. When teeth harden properly in our youth, it protects us from cavities throughout our lives.
However, even for adults, whose teeth are fully formed, tea's fluoride is a great way to protect your teeth. The fluoride found in tea has been shown to inhibit the growth of glucosyltransferase. This substance helps the plaque that naturally forms to adhere to our teeth.
Dentists in the UK have also reported that black tea disables certain forms of bacteria that work with sugars to form clumpy aggregates that stick to teeth. These dentists believe that drinking black tea reduces the total mass of dental plaque.
In addition, one study has suggested that green tea may inhibit the enzyme that causes plaque to form in the first place. Plaque is formed when an enzyme in your mouth mixes with sugar in the food you eat.
This study, reported by the UK Tea Council, looked at a sweet drink offered by a gourmet coffee house. This drink included sugar and whipped cream, but also included green tea. When the teeth of those who consumed this beverage were evaluated and compared to those who consumed heavily sweetened drinks that did not include green tea, the results were significant.
Even when the participants consumed the same amount of sugar, those whose drinks contained green tea did not have the same amount of plaque formation as those whose drinks were made with something other than green tea, leading researchers to conclude that green tea has a cleansing effect on the teeth.
And, for those of us concerned about bad breath, green tea may have good news, as well. Green tea also inhibits the growth of many of the bacteria that cause bad breath. So, drinking green tea on a regular basis may help keep your breath naturally sweet.
Not getting your daily dose of tea? Here are some simple ways to increase the amount of tea you're getting each day.
• Skip that second cup of coffee – Even the most serious coffee connoisseurs can usually forego the second cup if given a cup of tea as an alternative.
• Make iced tea – It doesn't matter whether your tea is hot or iced. The protective effects are the same. So, brew up a big pitcher of tea and keep it in the refrigerator for serving at and between meals.
• Grab a bottle – Today, major tea manufacturers offer green tea bottled like soda. This is a delicious replacement for your daily soda, and is far healthier.
• Carry tea bags – Carry tea bags in your purse or suit case. This makes it easy to have your favorite tea anywhere that hot water is available.
• Wind down in the evening. Many people avoid tea in the evening, because they fear the caffeine will inhibit sleep. However, both black and green teas are lower in caffeine than coffee, with green tea having less caffeine than black. In addition, the caffeine in tea doesn't seem to cause jitters the way coffee and soda can. So, tea is a great way to wind down in the evening, most likely without interrupting your sleep.
Green or Black?
If you're wondering whether you should be drinking green tea or black tea, you're asking a good question. Both are healthy, but there are significant differences between the two.
Black tea is fermented during processing, which changes the natural anti-oxidant compounds. While black tea does contain anti-oxidants, and does offer many healthful benefits, those natural, unfermented anti-oxidant compounds in green tea are healthier.
Research has shown over and over that green tea's anti-oxidants have significant power to protect health. Green tea has been shown to prevent cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's disease and to help reduce premature aging.
So, while black tea is definitely good for you, and is protective to your teeth, for the maximum overall health benefits, get your daily dose of green tea. Many scientists today suggest that for the maximum benefit to your dental health, you combine the two. Both are delicious and refreshing, making a wonderful drink any time of day. It may be one of the simplest ways you can protect your health – and your smile.
Drink Too Much Green Tea
There is still much more to learn about the factors that influence cancer development, but in the meantime, we should take to heart the things that we know cause cancer, and those that we believe can prevent it. Here are some things you can do to reduce your risk.
The first is eating a healthy diet, rich in fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are rich in anti-oxidants, which can prevent cancer and other diseases. Anti-oxidants are very effective at combating free radicals that are created in our bodies as we process food.
We can't stop these free radicals from occurring, but we can combat them with anti-oxidants. If we don't combat them they cause damage to our cells and DNA, and this is what leads to premature aging and disease.
If you want to significantly increase the anti-oxidant level in your diet, pay special attention to the foods that can give you the most value. Get your fair share of artichokes, red beans, blueberries, pomegranates, tomatoes and green tea. Yes, that's right ? green tea.
In fact, in terms of dietary changes to help prevent cancer, green tea may be the very best thing you can add to your diet. There has been much research in recent years on the effects green tea has in preventing, and even treating cancer.
Many studies have shown that green tea's anti-oxidant power can be a powerful preventative against cancer. Not only is this suggested by the significantly lower cancer rate in Asian countries where green tea is widely consumed, but many studies have supported this theory.
In 1999, the Alternative Medicine Review reported that green tea appears to affect cancer in many ways. First, it is a powerful free radical scavenger, and destroys more free radicals than many other forms of anti-oxidants.
Secondly, green tea seems to have the power to inhibit the growth of abnormal cells, many of which might have started as, or turned into cancer cells. Green tea also appears to be a very strong detoxifying agent, helping to rid the body of potentially harmful substances.
Finally, the Alternative Medicine Review reported that green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells. Therefore, even in patients who have already been diagnosed with cancer, green tea may be helpful, because it may prevent the cancer from spreading.
Other studies have also shown that green tea can be an effective adjunct therapy for cancer, not only because it appears to inhibit the spread of cancer, but also because it makes traditional therapies more effective.
One study showed that when mice were given green tea in conjunction with chemotherapy, the chemotherapy drugs invaded the cancer cells in higher concentration than when the chemotherapy was administered alone.
Another recent study of breast cancer patients in stages one and two showed a significantly lower rate of cancer recurrence when the patients were given large doses of green tea.
Making Green Tea Part of Your Life
If you'd like to add green tea to your diet for its health effects, many doctors recommend that you start with about three cups per day. Experiment with the many flavors of green tea that are on the market, or stick with the traditional green tea so popular in Asian restaurants. Either will have the health benefits ? hot or iced.
While most American doctors recommend that you begin with 3 cups of green tea per day, you should know that in Asian cultures most people drink significantly more than that. The average in China is 4-5 cups a day, and in Japan it's estimated to be as high as 8-10 cups per day.
If you don't think you can manage that much tea in a day, there are green tea extract supplements available at many drug stores and health food stores.
One of the great things about using green tea as a preventative treatment is that there are no side effects. Green tea is healthy and safe even to give to your children. Green tea has significantly less caffeine that coffee and even has less caffeine that traditional black tea. So, it's well tolerated by nearly everyone.
In addition to research showing that green tea helps prevent cancer, there is also evidence to suggest that it reduces your risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and Alzheimer's disease. It is also thought to slow down the overall aging process.
What do you have to lose? It seems there is no downside to drinking green tea and there may be a great many benefits.
Marcus Stout has sinced written about articles on various topics from Food and Drink, Vitamins and Types of Cancer. Marcus Stout is President of the Golden Moon Tea Company. For more information about tea,. Marcus Stout's top article generates over 49500 views. Bookmark Marcus Stout to your Favourites.
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