How Cranberry Juice is good for the Teeth

How Cranberry Juice is good for the Teeth

Be careful what you drink, even if it's just cranberry juice. Most people think that the cranberry's anti-adhesion property has a very potent health benefit: it helps clean up the urinary tract. Which is true. But the same is also true for the teeth, as most experts believe.

Still you should watch the kinds of cranberry juice you drink. Let's elaborate on this more in the next section.

What is good for the bladder is also good for the teeth

The cranberry fruit's anti-adhesion property helps prevent UTI (or urinary tract infection) by flushing out toxins and bacteria in the urinary tract. We know that. However scientists and experts recently figured out that cranberry juice cleans the not only bladder but the teeth as well.

Experts believe that it's the adherence of pathogens along the bladder walls is how cranberry juice helps clean up the urinary tract. If this is so, then the same is true in the mouth, since oral bacteria uses the same adhesion molecules to stick onto teeth, to paraphrase what Dr. Michel Koo said. Dr. Michel Koo is a food scientist and oral biologist at the University of Rochester.

But is a can of factory-processed and sweetened cranberry juice really that heaven-sent? Let's find out.

The nature of sweetness

Let's not beat around the bush – not all cranberry juice products will earn you whiter and healthier teeth. This is how it goes.

Since not everyone can tolerate the strong tart-like taste of pure cranberry juice, some of us turn to processed cranberry juice instead. And this is where the problem starts. Some if not most processed juice products contain significant amount of sugar compounds that render the cranberry's nutrients useless. If bacteria doesn't ruin your teeth, tooth decay will. Other ingredients found in commercial cranberry juice products include high-Fructose corn syrup, another good cause of bad teeth.

As a health-conscious consumer, what you should do, you ought to read the labels carefully before you make a purchase. Make sure the product you're looking at is unsweetened and not loaded with sugar compounds or corn syrup. Avoid cranberry-infused fruit juices, such as cranberry-flavored apple juice. It tastes like cranberry, sure, but who knows if it still has the same health benefits of real cranberry.

In the end, cranberry juice is naturally sweet. But it shouldn't be too sweet. Ask your dietitian more details about cranberry juice and its recommended amount for your daily intake. Nothing beats the advice of a good doctor.

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