Curious Facts

Jasmine tea for maintaining oral health

By Eloísa Carmona - 2021-09-29T12:17:58Z
Jasmine tea is scented with the aroma of jasmine flowers, and although sometimes white or black tea is used, the base of this drink is usually green tea; this is why jasmine tea offers many of the same benefits as this infusion.For example, among the benefits of jasmine tea, we have that it is full of antioxidants, it can help you if you are on a diet to lose weight, it is good for the heart, and as a home remedy, it can be used as a mouthwash to maintain the health of your teeth.Jasmine tea: what is it good for?Like many teas, jasmine tea has no nutritional value unless you add milk, sugar, or some other substance with nutritional value, but it does contain some vitamins and minerals in small amounts that come from the green tea leaves, such as iron, zinc, potassium, and copper. You can drink up to 8 cups of jasmine tea a day, which can provide you with the incredible benefits of its antioxidants, but don’t forget that this tea does contain caffeine and could cause insomnia and nervousness if you exceed its consumption.Jasmine tea is loaded with powerful plant compounds known as polyphenols called catechins, which act as antioxidants in the body and protect cells from damage by free radicals. One particularly powerful catechin in green tea is epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and blood lipid-lowering effects and has been linked to benefits such as weight loss, better blood sugar control, as well as heart and oral health.Jasmine tea as mouthwashSince jasmine tea is based on green tea, which is full of catechins, it can help protect teeth against dental caries by killing plaque-forming bacteria like Streptococcus mutans.Several studies have shown evidence of this, and for example, one conducted with 15 people demonstrated that a solution containing catechins from green tea prevented Streptococcus mutans from producing acid when applied to the teeth; excess acid can erode tooth enamel.Another revealed that using a catechin-based green tea mouthwash for 1 week is as effective at reducing dental plaque as an antiseptic mouthwash, while some studies suggest that jasmine tea may combat bad breath by reducing the bacteria that cause odor.