14 DAY TRIAL // "We thank you Lord for this wonderful Thanksgiving dinner and especially for this delicious cranberry juice that protects our teeth from cavities."
This is the prayer Hyun Koo, Ph.D., at the University of Rochester Medical Center, head of a research team who has recently discovered the oral benefits of cranberry juice, advices people to say at the Thanksgiving table.
Aside from being a powerful weapon against bladder infections, cranberry juice also protects the teeth from cavities by acting like Teflon. In this way, it is difficult for the bacteria that cause cavities to cling to tooth surfaces.
According to Koo and his team, stickiness is everything for the microbe Streptococcus mutans, which creates most cavities by eating sugars and then excreting acids that cause dental decay.
"Scientists believe that one of the main ways that cranberries prevent urinary tract infections is by inhibiting the adherence of pathogens on the surface of the bladder. Perhaps the same is true in the mouth, where bacteria use adhesion molecules to hold onto teeth", Koo said.
"Something in the cranberry juice disarms the pathogens that cause tooth decay", he added.
But don't even think about running to the juice aisle in the grocery store to prevent tooth decay, Koo said. The sugar that is usually added to cranberry juice can cause cavities, and the natural acidity of the substance may contribute directly to tooth decay.
Since Thanksgiving time is near, Koo warns that only cranberry juice is under study, so diners shouldn't reach for the cranberry sauce just to stop the tooth decay brought on by carbohydrate-laden foods like mashed potatoes, rolls and pumpkin pie.