Chocolate for Your Heart, Skin and… Teeth!
The cardiovascular health benefits of chocolate has already been much documented. Its positive effect on skin health, a bit less so. That is actually good for the teeth? Unheard of… til now.
Think chocolate is bad for your teeth? Think again—it may actually be beneficial. A study out of the University of Osaka Graduate School of Dentistry in Osaka, Japan found that after four days of rinsing with a cocoa flavanol extract without other oral hygiene methods (such as brushing or flossing) participants had decreased bacteria and plaque on their teeth.
Can you believe that? In the book Chocolate – A Healthy …read more
Cavity Fighting Gummy Bears
First, there were the cavity fighting lollipops. Now, the cavity-fighting goodness of xylitol, a commonly used sugar substitute, in gummy bears!
Xylitol has already been shown to reduce levels of the harmful mutans streptococci (MS) bacteria that are known to cause tooth decay and is actually already being used as the active ingredient in anti-cavity chewing gum. However such a product were not considered to be suitable for young kids. What’s a better product to use as a vehicle then? Gummy bears, what else!
The children in the study were given four bears three times a day, containing different concentrations of xylitol. …read more
Fluoridated Bottled Water Prevents Tooth Decay
Fluoridated bottled water manufacturers are now allowed to claim that “Drinking fluoridated water may reduce the risk of [dental caries or tooth decay].”
It seems like something everyone already knows, but that’s how regulation goes. Before any firm can write any health claim on their packaging labels, all these go through rigorous validation processes first. And in fact, not all fluoridated water qualify. According to the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and applied Nutrition, “the food eligible to bear the claim is bottled water [snip] containing greater than 0.6 and up to 1.0 mg/L total fluoride, and meeting all general requirements …read more




