Health Solution Scientists create candy that prevents tooth decay

Health Solution Scientists create candy that prevents tooth decay

Good news for people who rejoice eating sweet treats but are wary of tooth decay!

Researchers have developed a new 'sugar-free' candy that reduces the amount of cavity-causing bacteria on the teeth.

The candy developed by Christine Lang of the Berlin biotech firm Organobalance and her colleagues contains dead bacteria that bind to the bacteria most likely to cause cavities.

Subjects who ate the candy had reduced levels of "bad" bacteria in their mouths, 'Medical Xpress' reported.

After eating, bacteria attached to the surface of the teeth release an acid that dissolves the tooth enamel, leading to cavities.

Researchers said the strain of bacteria most likely to cause cavities is mutans streptococci.

Another type of bacteria, Lactobacillus paracasei, found in kefir, reduces levels of mutans streptococci and decreases the number of cavities in rats, researchers found.

Sugar on the surface of L paracasei binds with mutans streptococci.

Researchers believe that by binding with mutans streptococci, L paracasei prevents mutans streptococci from re-attaching to teeth.

Scientists create candy that prevents tooth decay

To test whether L paracasei could help prevent cavities in people, Lang and her team developed a sugar-free candy containing heat-killed samples of the bacteria. They then tested the candy on a group of 60 volunteers.

After the experiment, about three-fourths of the people who had eaten candies with bacteria had significantly lower levels of mutans streptococci in their saliva than they had had the day before, the report said.

Subjects who consumed candies with two milligrammes of bacteria experienced a reduction in mutans streptococci levels after eating the first candy.

By using dead bacteria, they were able to avoid problems live bacteria might have caused, researchers said.

Healthy Exercising regularly can prevent dementia

Healthy Exercising regularly can prevent dementia

Vigorous daily exercise can significantly reduce the risk of dementia, a 35-year study has found.

Taking regular exercise, non-smoking, a low body weight, a healthy diet and a low alcohol intake are five healthy behaviours that the long-term study identified as being integral to leading a disease-free lifestyle.
Healthy Exercising regularly can prevent dementia
People who consistently followed four or five of these behaviours experienced a 60 per cent decline in dementia and cognitive decline - with exercise being the strongest mitigating factor - as well as 70 per cent fewer instances of diabetes, heart disease and stroke, compared with people who followed none.

The number of people living with dementia worldwide is set to treble and reach 135 million by 2050, according to a recent analysis by Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI).

"The size of reduction in the instance of disease owing to these simple healthy steps has really amazed us and is of enormous importance in an ageing population," said Principle Investigator Professor Peter Elwood from Cardiff University's School of Medicine.

"What the research shows is that following a healthy lifestyle confers surprisingly large benefits to health - healthy behaviours have a far more beneficial effect than any medical treatment or preventative procedure," said Elwood.

Healthy Exercising regularly can prevent dementia

"If the men had been urged to adopt just one additional healthy behaviour at the start of the study 35 years ago, and if only half of them complied, then during the ensuing 35 years there would have been a 13 per cent reduction in dementia, a 12 per cent drop in diabetes, six per cent less vascular disease and a five per cent reduction in deaths," Elwood said.

The Caerphilly Cohort Study recorded the healthy behaviours of 2,235 men aged 45-59 in Caerphilly, South Wales, UK.