Tea Service: Protecting Mind and Mouth

BEVERAGE

THE DISEASE-FIGHTING properties in polyphenols, an antioxidant found in tea, are well-documented in combating everything from cancer to high cholesterol. Two new studies reveal benefits to oral and mental health as well.

Researchers in Israel found that the polyphenol ECGE may protect against Parkinson's disease, because mice injected with an ECGE extract, which is abundant in green tea, were immunized against the neurotoxins that cause Parkinson's in rodents. The findings were presented at the 14th International Congress on Parkinson's Disease in Helsinki, Finland.

If green tea is the neuroprotectant, black tea is the cavity fighter. In a recent study at the University of Illinois at Chicago, subjects who rinsed with plain black tea five times for 30 seconds each, prevented plaque from further growth. Researchers at Sweden's Goteborg University also confirmed that rinsing with black tea for one minute I0 times a day significantly decreased plaque buildup. The results of both studies were presented at the American Society for Microbiology's annual meeting earlier this year.

"Polyphenols prevent the growth and production of acid, which causes cavities. They also stop the bacterial enzyme responsible for helping plaque clump together and stick to teeth," explains researcher Christine Wu, Ph.D., a professor of periodontics at the University of Illinois in Chicago.