Dry Mouth - Helpful Ingredients

INGREDIENT - Green tea Catechins (Anti Oxidants). They perform an amazing task; while targeting damaged cells for destruction, they protect healthy cells by placing them in suspended animation. Green tea does this by unleashing p-57 (also known as KIP2). This is a protein that helps regulate cell growth and differentiation. Elevated levels of p-57 suspend cell growth. When p-57 levels return to normal, cell growth resumes. This state of sleep protects healthy cells from annihilation while spurring the death of damaged cells. 

Dr Hsu of Georgia Regents University studied mice genetically bred to spontaneously develop autoimmune reactions against the salivary glands, tear glands and pancreas. Their symptoms included reduced saliva and tears—the same symptoms you would find in humans with Sjogrens syndrome. When the mice showed symptoms at 15 weeks, their health deteriorated quickly. Most died within about two months. So how would they fare if treated with green tea extract? That’s just what Dr Hsu set out to discover. Dr Hsu bred a new generation of the genetically altered mice. When they were nine weeks old, he began feeding green tea extract daily to half of them, while the other half went without. Every day a fresh green tea extract “drink” was fed to the treated group, whilst the control group just received water. It did not take long for astonishing results to materialise. The green tea drink simply changed the mice’s medical destiny. The mice given the green tea extract had, among other things:

  1. Fewer auto-antibodies in the blood; these are produced by a faulty immune system to attack the body.
  2. Less salivary gland damage; from less free radicals changing the DNA and Mitochondria of the cell structure.
  3. Fewer lymphocytes; these are white blood cells that destroy salivary gland cells in Sjogrens sufferers.

The research team published the results in a 2007 edition of the highly respected scientific journal, Autoimmunity (8-1). As impressive as the results were, more studies were needed. And this is what happened next. The research team used a new generation of the same genetically altered mice to tweak the study. This time, rather than feeding green tea extract to half of the mice at age nine weeks, Dr Hsu fed them EGCG (the powerhouse polyphenols in green tea) at age four weeks. Again, they left half of the mice untreated as a comparison group. The research, published in Life Sciences in 2008 (8-2), yielded several findings, but perhaps the most exciting is that EGCG consumption delayed and prevented type 1 diabetes in the mice.

INGREDIENT - Xylitol the natural sugar alternative. Xylitol is a sweet white "all natural" substance.It has been clinically proven since 1963 to reduce mouth bacteria and fight tooth decay. It also helps lessen the amount of tooth plaque buildup. Xylitol is a natural alternative to sugar. Xylitol is found in the fibres of natural products such as corn, birch tree bark, fruits and vegetables. Xylitol is also naturally produced in small amounts in the body by metabolic activity. Xylitol is also a great sugar alternative for diabetics as it has less impact on blood sugar than other alternatives. Bacteria such as S.mutans process sugars and then use the energy from the sugars to grow in numbers and produce plaque called a biofilm. The by-product of this energy production is lactic acid. This lactic acid then soaks into our teeth and causes mineral leaching of calcium and phosphates (main minerals in tooth enamel) leading to tooth decay. Xylitol is a unique small 5 carbon compound that has completely different chemistry from other sweeteners such as sorbitol sucralose or aspartame. Xylitol is unable to be metabolised by bacteria. Studies show that the bacteria consume the xylitol compound but then starve to death. Continuous use of xylitol creates a desirable mouth bacteria and an undesirable environment for unhealthy plaque bacteria. There is evidence that 6 grams of xylitol are required for a clinical effect when using chewing gum, and lozenges. Dosing frequency should be spaced throughout the day. At this stage their is no science to show exceeding 8 grams per day would be more beneficial. After 5 weeks of consuming at least 6 grams of xylitol each day, sticky plaque bacteria will no longer be found on your teeth. After 6 months of continuous xylitol use, tooth decay bacteria are barely detectable in saliva, on the teeth or on the tongue surface. But beware xylitol and other sweeteners may cause gas, bloating and even diarrhoea. So it is important to slowly introduce this xylitol level to the body. Work up to the 6gram level over a week or so. This allows the body to acclimatise to this amazingly beneficial ingredient. Our DryGuard Gum contains 1gram of xylitol in each piece. We recommend chewing one piece after meals for 15 minutes, or one piece 6 times a day to arrive at the 6gram dosage. The DryGuard Lozenges can also be used for people that do not like to chew gum. Each of the lozenges contains over half a gram (570mg) of xylitol.

INGREDIENT - Jaborandi leaf extract is mainly used in herbal and conventional medicine. One of the by products from the leaf is Pilocarpine which is primarily used to treat glaucoma. this is an eye disease affecting millions of people around the world, eventually causing blindness. The leaf compounds can also be used to stimulate perspiration and salivation for dry mouth. It is particularly helpful in cancer patients who have dry mouth from chemotherapy.

INGREDIENT - Resveratrol is a polyphenol that has antioxidant properties. Antioxidants protect the body against cell damage that can lead to cancer and heart disease. Resveratrol is commonly found in the skin of red grapes, but can also be found in peanuts and berries. In heart disease; Resveratrol helps reduce inflammation, prevents the oxidation of LDL (bad cholesterol), and makes it more difficult for platelets to stick together and form clots that can lead to a heart attack.

  1. In Cancer; Resveratrol is thought to limit the spread and trigger the process of cancer cell death (apoptosis).
  2. In Alzheimer's; Resveratrol may protect nerve cells and the buildup of plaque that can lead to Alzheimer's.
  3. In Diabetes; Resveratrol helps prevent insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is a precursor to diabetes.

Rodent studies suggest that Resveratrol might even help against some of the effects of an unhealthy lifestyle and lead to increased longevity. Resveratrol-treated mice fed a high-calorie diet lived longer than similarly fed mice not given Resveratrol. Resveratrol protected mice fed a high-calorie diet from obesity-related health problems by mimicking the effects of caloric restriction. Resveratrol has also been linked to prevention of age-related problems such as heart disease and insulin resistance. Researchers believe that Resveratrol activates the SIRT1 gene, a biological mechanism that seems to protect the body against the harmful effects of obesity and the diseases of aging.

INGREDIENT - Aloe Vera. For thousands of years, people have used the gel from aloe vera leaves for healing and softening the skin. Aloe has also long been a folk treatment for constipation. Research backs up the ancient use of topical aloe vera as a skin treatment, at least for specific conditions. Studies have shown that aloe gel might be effective in treating psoriasis, seborrhea, dandruff, and minor burns and skin abrasions, as well as radiation-induced skin injuries. Aloe gel also seems helpful in treating the sores caused by genital herpes in men. There’s also strong evidence that aloe juice (also called latex) taken by mouth is a powerful laxative. Other uses of oral and topical aloe vera have been studied, ranging from cancer prevention to diabetes to easing the side effects of radiation therapy. For example, aloe vera gel taken orally seems to help people with diabetes by lowering blood sugar levels. It may also help to lower cholesterol. The results for other medical conditions have been less clear.