Tooth decay is the most common global disease caused by acid demineralisation that exceeds remineralisation where food containing carbohydrate like sugar rich confection or chocolate is left trapped on teeth.

Sugar rich chocolate like other carbohydrate foods, is often consumed regularly especially at Easter, Christmas, birthdays and thousands of other occasions causing a small episodes of acid demineralisation that eventually develop into cavities where demineralisation exceeds remineralisation.

Most food is trapped between teeth, but over 80% of cavities occur inside pits and fissures on chewing surfaces of back teeth where brushing cannot reach and saliva has no access to dilute sugars, neutralise acid and remineralise demineralised teeth like on easy to reach surfaces.

The first bite or so of any food is trapped between teeth and inside pits and fissures and is hard to displace blocking access to the rest of the meal or snack for a time.

Chewing sugar free food like chocolate or nuts before meals or snacks can reduce demineralisation from carbohydrate in that food and can even help remineralisation.

Chewing fibre like celery after eating forces saliva inside trapped food to dilute carbohydrate like sugar, neutralise acid and remineralise demineralised tooth. Chewing gum is also helpful but cannot absorb and expel saliva like celery and needs chewing for longer.

Chewing sugar free chocolate before meals or snacks has dental health benefits that can be applied to other sugarless foods and developed into a more effective convenient before eating tasty dental health snack that could even aid remineralisation after eating.

One common fact in life is that with age, you often become more conscious of protecting your health and preventing the development of diseases. If you are a postmenopausal woman with these concerns, you will be happy to know the latest research that drinking 1 to 3 cups of coffee each day will protect your heart.

This 15 year study was recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition to show that there were fewer deaths as a result of non-cancerous inflammatory diseases and heart disease among women who were postmenopausal. This group of women consumed 1 to 3 cups of coffee each day. This showed that coffee was responsible for these health benefits, especially since it is the second most consumed beverage worldwide. Coffee is the main source of antioxidants for many Americans within their daily diet, which will help to reduce heart disease and inflammation, as confirmed by Lene Frost Andersen, PhD, who works in the nutrition department at the University of Oslo in Norway.

The results of the study were drawn from 27,312 postmenopausal women participating in this study done by Iowa Women’s Health. The study commenced in 1986, and all of the participants were 55 to 69 years old. They had not yet been diagnosed with any conditions like diabetes, cancer, or heart disease, excluding skin cancer. All of the women completed a 127 question survey about their regular habits, including coffee consumption, alcohol use, and smoking. None of the women changed their coffee drinking habits for the purpose of the study. The groups of women in the study were tracked for 15 years, and in that time, 1733 passed away from cancer, 1411 passed away from heart disease, and the remaining 1211 died from other causes. The women who consumed 1 to 3 cups of coffee each day had less of a risk of dying from heart disease or inflammatory diseases, not including cancer, as opposed to the other women studied.

The women consumed 1 to 3 cups of coffee each day and were less likely to die from heart disease by 24% compared to the women who didn’t drink coffee. The women who drank 1 to 3 cups of coffee each day had a 28% less risk of passing away from non-cancerous inflammation, compared to those who abstained from coffee altogether. Death from cancer was not related to coffee drinking.

These results were not seen for the consumption of other beverages, like tea, sugary drinks, fruit juice, diet soda, and milk. The study did not conclude that drinking coffee was completely responsible for a lowered risk of heart disease, but the results were consistent to confirm that drinking 1 to 3 cups of coffee each day provides protection against inflammatory disease and cardiovascular issues in women who are postmenopausal.