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Date Posted: 02:20:09 05/25/01 Fri
Author: Anonymous
Subject: Tea and sympathology

Tea: A Healthy Brew

Beverage Fights Cavity-Causing Bacteria, Even Viruses
By Laurie Barclay

Reviewed by Dr. Dominique S. Walton

May 22, 2001 -- As the story goes, more than 5,000 years ago wise Chinese emperor Shen Nong used to purify his drinking water by boiling it. When a summer wind blew some dried leaves from a nearby tea bush into his kettle, the legendary beverage was born.

Turns out that the tea itself, and not just boiling the water, may have killed the germs in Shen Nong's drink. Tea can inhibit growth of cavity-causing bacteria and even some viruses, according to researchers at the American Society for Microbiology meeting, held in Orlando, Fla., May 20-24.

"Tea contains helpful chemicals called polyphenols which prevent bacterial growth," researcher Christine D. Wu, PhD, a microbiologist and professor of periodontics at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry, tells WebMD. As such, tea not only seems to protect against heart disease and cancer, it may also fight infection and even cavities.

Mouth bacteria in plaque, that sticky substance coating the teeth, give off acid causing tooth decay. "The polyphenols in tea may reduce plaque and acid production by mouth bacteria that cause cavities and gum disease," Wu says.

Although green tea was thought to contain more polyphenols than black tea, they actually have about the same amount, but in different proportions. Earlier Japanese studies suggested that green tea might prevent dental cavities, but the effect of black tea was still unknown, even though 80% of tea consumed worldwide is black tea.

In research supported by the Tea Trade Health Research Association in London, Wu's team found that black tea decreased growth and acid production of plaque bacteria. It also prevented a bacterial enzyme from turning sugar into a sticky substance allowing plaque to cling to teeth, and kept plaque bacteria from clumping together. This prevented plaque from coating the teeth, where it does its dirty work to cause cavities and gum disease.

To test the effects of black tea in humans, researcher Peter Lingstrom, DDS, PhD, an associate professor of cariology at the Institute of Odontology, at Sweden's Göteborg University, studied 10 volunteers.

Compared with rinsing with water, the people who rinsed their mouths with black tea for one minute, 10 times a day, had less plaque accumulation on their teeth and less acid and fewer cavity-causing bacteria in their plaque.

"The clinical significance of these findings on the development of dental cavities is not known," Lingstrom tells WebMD. "But tea, which contains antibacterial compounds as well as fluoride, might play an important role in protection against dental cavities for frequent tea drinkers."

While tea contains only a small fraction of the fluoride in toothpaste, it could still help prevent tooth decay without the toxic effects of too much of this substance, Wu explains.

More research needs to be done in humans, but "such studies are extremely difficult to do and to interpret," explains J.M.T. Hamilton-Miller, MD, PhD, a professor of medical microbiology at the Royal Free and University College Medical School in London. For example, many people take sugar in their tea, which increases tooth decay.

"I am not surprised at Wu's findings, but it is difficult to [be certain] that consuming black tea will reduce cavities," Hamilton-Miller tells WebMD.

"Tea has many benefits for oral health," Wu says. "People should consider drinking it instead of sugar pop or diet soda."

Some of those benefits may even include killing human viruses. Research by Milton Schiffenbauer, PhD, a professor of biology at Pace University in New York, shows that different black teas and iced tea drinks may actually destroy certain human viruses like herpes simplex type I and II. Adding tea extract to mouthwash and toothpaste enhances their antiviral effect.

Chemicals in tea may inactivate viruses by destroying their outer protein coat, Hamilton-Miller explains. But he warns that the antiviral activity of tea in the lab may not necessarily translate into a therapeutic effect in humans.

"Mother always told you to drink tea when you have a cold or flu," John H. Weisburger, MD, PhD, director emeritus of the American Health Foundation in Valhalla, N.Y., tells WebMD. "Now we know why -- viruses are inhibited, and levels drop."

© 2001 WebMD Corporation. All rights reserved.

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