Wine May be Good for Your Oral Health

Sip, sip, hooray!

According to a recent report in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, new research suggests that not only is wine good for your heart and colon, but it may help keep the cavities at bay, too.

That’s right, wine might be good for your oral health because the same polyphenols (antioxidants) that protect the body from harm also might protect your teeth and gyms from bacteria that causes plaque, cavities and periodontal diseases.

Researchers believe that because some plants and fruits produces polyphenols that fight infection caused by bacteria and pathogens, it would follow then that the polyphenols in wine—made from grapes—would fight bacteria in our mouth, too.

Using two red wine polyphenols, grape seed and red wine extracts, researchers found that the two polyphenols were more effective at cutting back on bacteria’s ability to stick to model gum tissue than the extracts. And when combined with an oral probiotic, the polyphenols were even more successful.

Now, don’t take this as permission to go from adding a glass at dinner to consuming an entire bottle. You have to listen to your body and what’s best for you. And while the research isn’t 100 percent conclusive, it’s certainly a sip in the right direction, and we’ll raise a glass of vino to that.

Photo credit: Ridofranz, Thinkstock