Study Green Vegetable Juice Cures Chronic Gingivitis

Leafy vegetables strengthen the teeth
Nitrate-rich leafy vegetables have so far been problematic. But the outlawed ingredient also has health-promoting properties. This is proven by a recently published study. Nitrate from a commercial vegetable juice can noticeably improve the course of chronic gingivitis after just two weeks.

Leafy vegetables such as rocket salad, spinach, chard and various lettuce are among the most significant nitrate sources in human nutrition.

Green leafy vegetables strengthens the teeth. Image: Zerbor - fotolia

"Nitrate itself is not harmful to health," explains food scientist Prof. Dr. med. Reinhold Carle from the University of Hohenheim. However, the consumption of nitrate-rich foods has so far been considered critical because digestive processes convert nitrate under certain circumstances to nitrite, nitrogen oxides and so-called nitrosamines. In particular, nitrosamines are considered to be highly carcinogenic and are associated with the development of esophageal and gastric cancers. The team of scientists showed that this nitrate from vegetable plants can even develop health-promoting properties.

Plant nitrate for gingivitis
The researchers divided a total of 44 participants with chronic gingivitis initially into two groups. The first group of 21 people consumed a placebo salad drink three times daily for a period of two weeks. The naturally contained nitrate had been removed from the placebo drink by a special adsorber procedure.

The second group of 23 persons received at identical intervals the identical test drink with the originally contained amount of nitrate.

The subjects were examined before the start of the study and for the first time after 14 days. After only two weeks, significant and statistically significant improvements in the gingivitis of the verum group were observed. On the other hand, no improvement was found in the placebo group, ie the group in which the nitrate was removed in the test drink.

Nitrate-rich vegetable juice stimulates natural nitrate-nitrite-NO metabolism
Researchers explain the mechanism of action as follows: Food-absorbed nitrate is rapidly absorbed in the stomach and upper small intestine and then transported via the blood to the salivary glands.

A good quarter of the absorbed nitrate is released into the saliva there. In this way, the nitrate concentration in the oral cavity is significantly increased not only when drinking the salad juice drink, but also over a longer period thereafter measurably.

Certain bacteria that occur throughout the pharynx, especially in the interdental spaces, convert the nitrate into nitrite. On the one hand, it has an antimicrobial effect and, by inhibiting harmful bacteria, it could directly contribute to the relief of gingivitis. On the other hand, it is converted to nitrogen monooxide (NO). The latter is considered as hypotensive, blood circulation-promoting and can trigger anti-inflammatory processes in the body.