Healthy Living News

Feb162012

An Apple a Day Could Keep the Dentist Away, Too 

by Nancy Volkers
InteliHealth News Service

INTELIHEALTH - Older men who eat more fiber-rich fruits can help to keep periodontal disease from getting worse, according to data from a Veterans Affairs study.

Eating more high-fiber foods lowers LDL ("bad cholesterol"). People who eat more fiber are also less likely to be obese. Periodontal (gum) disease is linked with obesity. So researchers wondered if eating more fiber could help to reduce periodontal disease.

Researchers from the University of Connecticut, Storrs, did the study. It involved 625 men who are part of a larger long-term study on aging. They all had some level of periodontal (gum) disease. The study kept track of the men for an average of 15 years. They had dental and physical exams every 3 to 5 years.

They also filled out food questionnaires. The researchers were interested in how much fiber the men ate. In this study, a food was considered to be a "good to excellent" source of fiber if it contained at least 2.5 grams per serving.

The researchers found no benefit to eating more fiber in men under the age of 65.

In men ages 65 and older, eating more good to excellent fiber-rich foods was linked with 24% less bone loss in the jaw. It also reduced the risk of tooth loss by 28%.

Then the researchers broke out the fiber sources by food group. They found that only fruits had an effect. Fiber-rich fruits reduced the risk of bone loss by 14% per serving. They reduced the risk of tooth loss by 12% per serving.

Fiber-rich fruits include raspberries, pears, apples, strawberries, bananas, oranges, dried figs and raisins.

The researchers took many other factors into account:

  • Exercise levels
  • Smoking
  • Body mass index
  • Education level
  • Amount of tooth brushing
  • Caffeine intake
  • Seriousness of periodontal disease at the start of the study
  • Calculus (tartar) levels on teeth at the start of the study

The study appears in the February 8 issue of the Journal of the American Geriatric Society.

Categories: Dental / Oral Health

Back to: Healthy Living