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Food

Beet Juice Is the Future of Dental Care

The university students realized that the high inorganic nitrate levels found in beets would be converted by the body into nitric oxide. Said nitric oxide not only prevents cavities, but also actually stops tooth decay.
Photo via Flickr user Breville USA

Thanks to a combination of high-sugar intake and subpar dental care, roughly 95 percent of the industrialized world currently suffers from tooth decay of some form, a fact that certainly hasn't escaped the gaze of students at the University of Applied Sciences in Upper Austria.

Bio Drachen Trank—roughly translated to Organic Dragon Potion—was created by the aforementioned Austrian research students and is now being marketed in Austria to combat tooth decay. And what, pray tell, is this Organic Dragon Potion? Well, let us ask you this: What foodstuff is most likely to make your teeth nice and healthy?

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Red, syrupy beet juice probably isn't the first thing to pop into your mind. Beets, after all, stain everything they come into contact with. You would think that a mouthful of beet juice would lead to a smile worthy of a slasher film, not a healthy jawful of chompers.

But lo and behold, these Austrian dental students know better than we do. Bio Drachen Trank is a tooth-enhancing juice made out of beets.

The university students realized that the high inorganic nitrate levels found in beets would be converted by the body into nitric oxide. Said nitric oxide not only prevents cavities, but also actually stops tooth decay.

On the off-chance that you didn't spend four wild and crazy years in a dentistry school, let it be known that nitric oxide slows the growth of acid-producing bacteria found in plaque, which is the primary cause of tooth decay. Our intrepid university students tested Bio Drachen Trank on 50 of their fellow students, with 25 drinking nitrate-rich juice and the other 25 drinking nitrate-free juice.

After providing both test subject groups with their respective juices, the students conducted pH tests on their saliva. Those who consumed the nitrate-rich juice had saliva containing considerably less acids than those who drank the nitrate-free juice. The project leader, Dr. Otmar Höglinger, reports, "We concluded that regularly consuming the beetroot juice provides enough nitrite to control the growth of lactic acid bacteria." In addition to the drinks' positive effects on tooth decay, Bio Drachen Trank also contains the superfood aronia berry (a.k.a. chokeberry) and calcium.

So bottoms up, friends. Beet juice for all. Once the red juice washes down your gullet, your teeth will thank you.