4 Surprising Benefits of Ginger for Oral Health in Menopause
The benefits of ginger in menopause, and beyond, are numerous.
There is evidence that ginger supports hot flashes, and gut health. Ginger is a common supplement and kitchen power food in many cultures.
This post (and videos) share:
Dental health conditions that we face in perimenopause menopause
4 benefits of ginger for your dental health in perimenopause and menopause
Some menopause symptoms that may be supported by the benefits of ginger in your diet include:
Better Dental Health
Better digestion
Anti nausea
Antibacterial
Libido support
Wait… better dental health? I think this, and the topic of libido, are a hard choice when it comes to discussing the benefits of ginger!
Let’s stick to the benefits of ginger for oral health in on this one.
4 Surprising Benefits of Ginger for Oral Health in Menopause
We think about ginger for digestion, but have you ever thought about ginger for oral health?
I didn’t and I was in dental hygiene for years!
I talked about chamomile tea for dry mouth, xylitol, hydration, the link between lower estrogen and dry mouth, and of course the huge connection between your oral health and whole body health, but ginger?
NOPE.
The health of your mouth matters at any stage in life, but in oral health in menopause, when salivary flow is decreased, matters more.
Having healthy gums and teeth mean that you can:
Chew your food.
Chewing means enjoyment, and extracting flavour from food. When we start to lose teeth this impacts the types of food we choose, and the flavour we get from it.Aid your aging digestive system.
Without the ability to chew, you will not pulverize food and get it mixed with your saliva, to aid the digestive process. Considering that our digestion is impacted with age, keeping teeth and gums healthy is a must in midlife.Prevent other systemic diseases.
It is well known in the dentistry and dental hygiene world that your oral health is linked to your body's health. Here’s a few examples:
Diabetes:
Do you have diabetes? Have been told that this raises your risk of gum issues?
The North American Menopause society cites diabetes as “the number 6 killer of women ages 45 to 54 and the number 4 killer of women ages 55 to 64.”
There is some research that shows that having gum disease, which can be periodontal disease or gingivitis, can also be a risk factor for blood sugar control.The persistent inflammation in the body that can come from the mouth may have an impact on inflammatory products in the body and this can affect metabolic processes (2).
Diabetes also causes dry mouth, and this will be discussed below.
Heart disease
The link between cardiovascular disease and gum health is also clear. Researchers at the University of Toronto have found that a certain kind of immune cell, the neutrophil, is activated in abundance to tackle the bacteria in the mouth, and this puts your immune system on high alert for other areas of inflammation.
Having inflamed gums has been described a leaky gums, where the tissue of the gum become permeable due to fluid, and when the cell junctions of the tissue open up, just like a leaky gut, bacteria can enter the bloodstream here.
Don't panic, this can happen when you brush your teeth, and your body does have checks and balances for this!
If the bacteria load is high, it can colonize places in the body like artificial heart valves and knees. This is why we used to have to give antibiotics before dental treatment.
Keep your jaw joints aligned and healthy,
The jaw joints, otherwise known as the TM or temporomandibular joints, are the connection points between the jaw, and the skull. Some of you may have TMD, or temporomandibular disorder (it is not “TMJ”), and this can stem from clenching and grinding, a misaligned bite, or trauma to the head and neck.Keep your appearance and your confidence.
Gum disease, and even dry mouth can cause halitosis, or bad breath. Losing teeth can affect the shape of your face, and lips and change your appearance. While it’s not possible for everyone to always keep their teeth, or accessible to have tooth replacement, doing the best you can to combat bacteria in your mouth can benefit your overall oral health in menopause.
Benefits of Ginger for Oral Health
Gum Disease.
Many women in midlife find that their gums are receding, or they may be facing periodontal disease. Periodontal disease is the loss of gum and bone structure around the tooth.
This can happen for many reasons including grinding your teeth, bacterial load under the gum tissue, other health conditions, medications, injury dry mouth, and use of tobacco.
It looks like ginger, or Zingiber officinale, can benefit your gum health.
Ginger contains Raffinose, which works on something called biofilm. Biofilm or biofilms, are bacterial communities that are made up of microorganisms, and sticky protective substances. They make these sticky substances as part of their own survival.
Biofilms are in many places in the human body, but not limited to the human body! This sticky film can get broken up, by brushing, or with herbs, and this exposes bacteria to your own immune system, or to the herbs that can contact it, and decreases the bacterial load in the body.
This study shows how ginger inhibits biofilm of the virulent bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This is a bacteria found in soil and water and its linked to endocarditis, which affects the heart, so it makes sense to study the effects on biofilm, which lives on our teeth (3), (4).
Ginger is also anti inflammatory in nature, and may support your gums by reducing inflammation. Ginger reduces a group of hormone-like compounds called prostaglandins, which congregate where there is damage or infection.
Candida
If you have a Candida Albicans, or an oral thrush infection in your mouth, ginger may help that. Candida is a common fungal colonizer of the mouth. Candida can be elsewhere, and there are many different species of candida.
Denture wearers suffer from something called denture stomatitis, which is a candida overgrowth under the denture. Candida and yeast love dark moist spaces, like the mouth.
There is some evidence that ginger is highly antifungal.
Since I also have a simple ginger tea, or tisane recipe to share, one starts to wonder if a plain ginger concoction can be a gentle effective mouthwash. A mouth wash you can drink, that benefits your gut and your whole body.
This would be helpful for this next oral health issue in menopause.
Dry mouth.
As we age, our saliva changes. Having a dry mouth carries a fancy term called xerostomia. This happens due to the changes in estrogen. Estrogen receptors are on cells in many places of the body, including your mouth tissue.
Your salivary glands may not produce copious amounts of saliva, due to dehydration, or ever stress. Stress and anxiety can create a drier mouth. Many people need to experience 30% - %50 salivary loss before noticing a dry mouth!
That’a incredible to me.
You may also be on medication which can dry out your mouth. There are hundreds of medications that can cause dry mouth. *If you want to try any natural remedy for this, and you are on medication, always seek help from a licensed care practitioner before hand*
Ginger may support dry and inflamed tissue of those of you with dry mouth. Ginger is in fact what we call a sialogogue. It stimulates saliva production.
There is a study that looked at how effective a ginger spray could be on increasing saliva (5). The outcome was positive. Maybe we can put out tea in a spray bottle!
Fun fact:
Ginger also may work on the relaxation response of the nervous system by supporting the making of acetylcholine in the body which promotes relaxation. When our nervous systems are relaxed, digestion is primed, and we can produce more saliva.
Benefits of Ginger: Decrease Cavities!
Cavities can happen at any age, but with the lack of saliva in menopause you may be at higher risk of cavities.
When I was in school I was taught that caries or cavities was a disease, but newer way of thinking is that its actually dysbiosis or an imbalance in the bacterial composition of the mouth.
The bacteria Streptococcus mutans, which is responsible for cavities, can be cultured from even a healthy mouth.
Ginger is an antibacterial that can work against streptococcus mutans and one article noted that this powerful root can work against staph aureus, when paired with honey. This may still be effective against the strep mutans.
Honey to fight cavities?
The bacteria are what cause the cavities not the sugar, as the bacterial by products are acidic and demineralize the tooth, causing a cavity.
Can you eat too much ginger?
While ginger is generally considered safe for most people, listen to your body, or stomach, if it talks to you! Pay attention to any stomach upset, or burning.
Ginger can also cause stomach upset in some people, especially if taken in large amounts. If you experience stomach pain or discomfort after taking ginger, reduce your intake or stop using it altogether.
Don’t overdo it on ginger, or anything for that matter.
Ginger can interact with some medications, so it is important to talk to your doctor before using ginger if you are taking any prescription medications.
Otherwise, experiment with different add ins, and let me know what you create!
Sources:
The North American Menopause Society
https://www.nature.com/articles/srep25318
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4842230
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4345092/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5551541/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92775/