Can a common food additive help diabetic mouths stay healthy?
Inorganic nitrate: A potential prebiotic for oral microbiota dysbiosis associated with type 2 diabetes.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Some bacteria in your mouth help turn nitrate from food into nitric oxide, which is good for your body. In people with type 2 diabetes, these helpful bacteria are low. This review says adding nitrate (like from beets or greens) might help the good bacteria grow and the bad ones shrink.
Surprising Findings
Inorganic nitrate may reduce bacteria linked to insulin resistance and glucose intolerance.
Most people don’t connect oral bacteria to insulin function — this suggests mouth health might directly influence blood sugar control, not just dental health.
Practical Takeaways
Add nitrate-rich foods like beets, spinach, arugula, or celery to your daily diet to potentially support oral and metabolic health.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Some bacteria in your mouth help turn nitrate from food into nitric oxide, which is good for your body. In people with type 2 diabetes, these helpful bacteria are low. This review says adding nitrate (like from beets or greens) might help the good bacteria grow and the bad ones shrink.
Surprising Findings
Inorganic nitrate may reduce bacteria linked to insulin resistance and glucose intolerance.
Most people don’t connect oral bacteria to insulin function — this suggests mouth health might directly influence blood sugar control, not just dental health.
Practical Takeaways
Add nitrate-rich foods like beets, spinach, arugula, or celery to your daily diet to potentially support oral and metabolic health.
Publication
Journal
Nitric oxide : biology and chemistry
Year
2021
Authors
Z. Bahadoran, P. Mirmiran, M. Carlström, A. Ghasemi
Related Content
Claims (6)
When you eat foods with natural nitrates, like spinach or beets, bacteria in your mouth turn them into nitrite, which then travels through your blood and becomes nitric oxide—a molecule that helps your blood vessels relax.
Eating foods with inorganic nitrate might change the bacteria in your mouth in a way that helps your body make more nitric oxide, which could be helpful for people with type 2 diabetes.
Eating foods with inorganic nitrate might change the bacteria in the mouths of people with type 2 diabetes—making some helpful bacteria grow more and others shrink—which could help their bodies make more nitric oxide, a molecule that helps blood flow.
People with type 2 diabetes might have less acid in their mouth if they consume inorganic nitrate, because it could slow down the bad bacteria that make acid — helping protect their teeth.
Taking inorganic nitrate supplements might help lower the bad bacteria in the mouth that cause tooth decay and gum disease in people with type 2 diabetes.