Drinking Milk for Oral Health Benefits
With the holiday season upon us, many of us are struggling with maintaining a healthy diet. From cranberry sauce on the Thanksgiving table to Christmas cakes and cookies, sugary food choices are everywhere we look. As always, moderation is key, but did you know that milk can help your mouth recover from those sweets?
Consuming food with sugar in it causes bacteria in the plaque on teeth to produce acids, which attack the teeth and cause decay. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s School of Dentistry found that drinking milk after eating sugar foods helped lower plaque acid levels.
Said one of the researchers, “when discussing the cariogenicity of foods and beverages with patients, dentists and other health care professionals should emphasize that the order of ingesting sugary and nonsugary foods is important and may affect their oral health.”
So after you’ve finished that last slice of pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving, pour a glass of milk and drink to oral health!