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Scrolling through articles that celebrate the health benefits of wine might reduce your guilt while pouring yourself a second (or third) glass of wine for the night.
But, what’s so great about wine? That would be its antioxidants, thanks to a compound in it called polyphenol. Aside from protecting our bodies from harm caused by free radicals, recent studies on our favourite drink have shed light on how it also benefits our gut by interacting with the bacteria in our digestive system.
A study reported in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry reveals that wine now has one more benefit! Following up from recent studies, M. Victoria Moreno-Arribas and her colleagues from the Center for Advanced Research in Public Health in Spain set out to investigate if the polyphenols found in wine could promote oral health by interacting with the molecules in our teeth and gums.
They ran tests using two red wine polyphenols, as well as grape seed and red wine extract on model gum tissue that contained plaque and cavity-causing bacteria.
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The researchers found that two polyphenols, namely caffeic and p-coumaric acid were found to reduce the bacteria’s ability to stick to the model gum cells.The test also revealed that when combined with an oral probiotic called Streptococcus dentisani, the wine polyphenols had an improved ability at fending off the pathogenic bacteria.
Don’t be tempted to kick back on the sofa with an entire bottle of wine just yet, as this study is still in its earlier stages. Although dental health is an interesting benefit of wine, do be reminded that the beverage’s acidic nature might possibly damage the enamel of your teeth if consumed excessively.
As this test was carried out using a modelled version of gum tissue, further and broader research is required to confirm the benefits of wine polyphenols and oral health.
You can get your Polyphenol-fix from the following foods as well- tea, coffee, dark chocolate, blackberries, raspberries, black grapes and cherries.
This article was originally published on Shape.com.sg.
