Wine May Be Good For Your Teeth

FitSugar — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 02:00:00 PDT

One of the reasons I love red wine is it is full of polyphenols, an antioxidant that fights cancer and heart disease. Well, Italian scientists might have discovered a new reason to love both red and white wine, - it may fight bacteria that cause cavities, even with the alcohol removed.

Now before we all start toasting for our teeth, the tests were only performed in test tubes and not on real teeth. The researchers marinated cavity-causing streptococcal bacteria in the wines that had been stripped of their alcoholic content. Both types of wine countered those cavity-causing bacteria as well as other streptococcal bacteria that cause some cases of throat infection.

Preliminary research indicates that red wine may be slightly more effective at fighting the bacteria than white wine. Scientists were also able to isolate the bacterial fighting acids, and the isolated acids were more effective against the bacteria than the wines themselves.

If you are interested in reading more about this study, you can find it online at the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

DrSugar Answers: Heart Murmur?

DrSugar — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 10:00:28 PDT

DrSugar is in the house! And she's answering your health-related questions.

Dear DrSugar,
A few years ago, I started going to a new primary care physician, who I really like. But I was surprised when she listened to my heartbeat and told me I had a heart murmur. She said it was nothing to worry about, just something you "have," and that it probably wouldn't ever lead to any complications. I've never had a doctor tell me I had a heart murmur before, but she was so casual about it, it made me think it's very common. What exactly is a heart murmur, and is it something to be worried about?
- Telltale Heart

This is a fantastic question, considering the heart is one of the most important organs in the body and its main function is to supply all the other organs in the body (and even itself!) with oxygen-rich blood. Learn more about the heart and this issue when you keep reading.