Yogurt may take the bite out of gum disease

Last Updated: 2008-02-21 9:50:58 -0400 (Reuters Health)

By Joene Hendry

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Regularly eating yogurt and other foods
with lactic acid may be good for your mouth, Japanese researchers
report.

Dr. Yoshihiro Shimazaki and colleagues found that consuming yogurt and
lactic acid drinks was significantly associated with better
periodontal health. "But, milk and cheese were not," Shimazaki said.

Periodontal disease is a chronic bacterial condition associated with
receding gums and tooth loss in adults. Outside of regular brushing
and flossing, effective measures to allay this disease are limited,
Shimazaki, of Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan, and colleagues note
in the Journal of Periodontology.

Previous research identified a lower occurrence of periodontal disease
among people who eat high amounts of dairy products, but did not
identify which dairy products were most beneficial, the researchers
report.

Shimazaki's team assessed the severity of periodontal disease in 942
men and women, aged 40 to 79 years, and their intake of milk, cheese,
and lactic acid foods.

They found that people with generalized (more advanced) periodontal
disease had a lower intake of lactic acid foods than people with
localized (less advanced) periodontal disease.

Compared with individuals reporting no lactic acid food intake, those
eating 55 grams or more of yogurt or lactic acid drinks a day had
significantly fewer markers of severe periodontal disease, the
investigators note, once they made allowances for factors such as age,
gender, smoking, alcohol intake, frequency of tooth brushing, blood
sugar and cholesterol levels.

"The beneficial effect on periodontal disease might be based on the
probiotic effect of lactobacilli found in lactic acid foods,"
Shimazaki told Reuters Health. Probiotics are living microorganisms,
such as the Lactobacillus bacteria in yogurt that are beneficial to
one's health.

The investigators suggest follow up studies that further analyze the
probiotic effect of lactic acid foods by assessing the distribution of
lactic acid bacteria in subjects' mouths based on the lactic acid
foods they eat. Future research should also examine whether continuing
intake of lactic acid foods alters the progression of periodontal
disease.

Source: Journal of Periodontology, January 2008.

Copyright © 2008 Reuters Limited

Archived from group: sci>med>nutrition