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Anti-Aging Therapy
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Eating grapefruit helps fight gum disease
 
 27.12.2007
Eating two grapefruits a day may help gum disease, suggests a study appearing in the 27 August edition of British Dental Journal.
Previous studies found deficiency of vitamin C in the blood is linked with increased risk of periodontal disease. It has been demonstrated in many studies that vitamin C as a supplement is effective in reducing the inflammation and infection of periodontal disease, and in promoting the regeneration of gum tissue.
The current study found eating grapefruit daily increases the serum vitamin C level and relieves periodontitis.
In the study titled "Grapefruit consumption improves vitamin C status in periodontitis patients", H. Staudte et al. assigned 58 patients with chronic periodontitis into two groups. The test group consisted of 21 non-smokers and 17 smokers and a control group of 11 non-smokers and 9 smokers. The test group consumed two grapefruits a day during the two-week study.
The grapefruits consumed in the study were obtained from a supermarket and each weighed approximately 300g. Each grapefruit contained approximately 90 mg of vitamin C.
22 healthy subjects were recruited to compare plasma vitamin C levels between the healthy subjects and the patients.
Clinical evaluation including plaque index (PI), sulcus-bleeding index (SBI), probing pocket depths (PPD) and plasma vitamin C levels were determined before and at the end of the two-week study.
The smokers were found to have 29 percent lower levels of vitamin C than the non-smokers. Vitamin C in the periodontitis patients was below the normal level.
Grapefruit consumption raised the plasma vitamin C level from 0.39 to 0.74 mg/dl in the smoker patients and from 0.56 to 0.87 mg/dl in the non-smoker patients with periodontitis.
SBI was reduced in the test group while PI and PPD were not improved.
The researchers said that longer-term studies are needed to determine whether other periodontal outcomes improve with grapefruit consumption.
A Borutta, director of the WHO Collaboration Centre, Prevention of oral disease said in a commentary accompanying the article that frequently eating grapefruit and other citric fruits may lead to dental erosion. If vitamin C is beneficial to the gum disease, other sources of vitamin C such as other fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin C may be used.
Vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables include oranges, grapefruit, tomatoes, pineapple, broccoli, cantaloupe, cauliflower, asparagus, and strawberries.
However, the researchers suggested that those consuming acidic fruits including citric fruits such as grapefruit should not brush their teeth immediately after consuming the grapefruit because acidic citrus juice can weaken tooth enamel making it susceptible to erosion.

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