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蔓越莓汁常被认为又酸又甜，喝多了对牙齿不好。美国伊利诺伊大学芝加哥分校的一项小型研究却得出了相反的结论：纯的无糖蔓越莓汁能让牙菌斑长得更慢、产生的酸更少。文章先说明牙菌斑如何损伤牙齿、蔓越莓中的天然化合物原本以什么作用闻名，再介绍研究者为什么选择超市里能买到的果汁、如何在儿童和成人身上做对比，接着给出主要结果：只有纯果汁有明显效果，含糖蔓越莓饮料和清水没有。最后交代局限：参与者只有 22 人，只观察了 30 分钟，还不能说明常喝蔓越莓汁就能预防蛀牙。阅读时可留意 suggests、may、cannot show 等词如何区分初步发现和尚未证实的结论，以及 Instead of、However 如何推动转折。

正文

Many people think of cranberry juice as a sour, sugary drink that is bad for teeth. A small study from the University of Illinois Chicago suggests the opposite may be true, at least for the pure, unsweetened kind. According to a ScienceDaily report on October 29, the juice slowed the regrowth of dental plaque and reduced the acid it produced.

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很多人认为蔓越莓汁是一种又酸又甜、对牙齿不好的饮料。美国伊利诺伊大学芝加哥分校的一项小型研究表明，情况可能恰恰相反，至少对纯的无糖蔓越莓汁来说是这样。据 ScienceDaily 10 月 29 日报道，这种果汁减缓了牙菌斑的重新生长，并减少了菌斑产生的酸。

Dental plaque is a thin layer of bacteria that forms on teeth. These bacteria feed on sugar from food and drinks, and they produce acids that slowly weaken the hard outer surface of teeth. Over time, this can lead to small holes called cavities. Cranberries contain natural compounds called proanthocyanidins, which can stop some bacteria from sticking to cells. That is one reason cranberry juice has long been used to help prevent urinary infections.

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牙菌斑是在牙齿上形成的一层薄薄的细菌。这些细菌以食物和饮料中的糖为食，产生的酸会慢慢削弱牙齿坚硬的外表面。久而久之，这会导致被称为龋洞的小洞。蔓越莓含有一种叫原花青素的天然化合物，它能阻止一些细菌附着在细胞上。这正是蔓越莓汁长期以来被用来帮助预防尿路感染的原因之一。

Christine Wu, a professor of children’s dentistry, wanted to know whether the same compounds could also affect the bacteria in plaque. Instead of testing chemicals prepared in a laboratory, her team used products that people can buy in shops. “Most cranberry juice studies have been conducted using laboratory-prepared cranberry juice extract,” she said, adding that few studies had included children.

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儿童牙科教授 Christine Wu 想知道，这些化合物是否也会影响牙菌斑里的细菌。她的团队没有测试实验室里制备的化学物质，而是使用了人们在商店里就能买到的产品。她说：“大多数蔓越莓汁研究使用的是实验室制备的蔓越莓汁提取物。”她还补充说，很少有研究把儿童纳入其中。

The study involved 14 children and eight adults. The researchers compared three drinks: pure cranberry juice, a cranberry drink with only 27% juice and added sugar, and plain water. In the morning, each participant arrived with plaque that had built up overnight, and the team collected a sample from one side of the mouth. The participants then took three small mouthfuls of a drink, moved it around their teeth and swallowed. Thirty minutes later, the team took plaque from the other side and compared the two samples.

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这项研究有 14 名儿童和 8 名成人参与。研究人员比较了三种饮品：纯蔓越莓汁、只含 27% 果汁并加了糖的蔓越莓饮料，以及清水。早上，每位参与者带着一夜积累的牙菌斑来到现场，研究团队从口腔一侧采集样本。随后参与者喝下三小口饮品，让它在牙齿周围流动后咽下。30 分钟后，团队从口腔另一侧采集牙菌斑，并对两份样本进行比较。

Plaque that had been exposed to the pure juice grew back more slowly, and it produced less acid, in both children and adults. In adults, regrowth fell by about 44% on average, and in children by about 33%. The sweet cranberry drink and water did not have a clear effect. Wu said other popular juices, such as orange and apple, had not shown the same promise.

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接触过纯果汁的牙菌斑重新生长得更慢，产生的酸也更少，儿童和成人都是如此。在成人中，菌斑再生长平均减少约 44%，儿童约减少 33%。含糖蔓越莓饮料和清水没有明显作用。Wu 说，橙汁、苹果汁等其他常见果汁并没有显示出同样的潜力。

However, the results have limits. With only 22 people and a test that lasted just 30 minutes, the study cannot show whether drinking cranberry juice regularly prevents cavities. Larger and longer studies are needed. Wu is open to using pure juice as an occasional mouth rinse, but its strong sour taste is a problem. Her idea is to add a suitable sugar substitute to make it more pleasant.

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不过，这些结果也有局限。研究只有 22 人，测试只持续了 30 分钟，因此无法说明经常喝蔓越莓汁能否预防龋洞。还需要规模更大、时间更长的研究。Wu 愿意把纯果汁偶尔用作漱口水，但它强烈的酸味是个问题。她的想法是加入合适的代糖，让它更容易入口。

新闻来源

• ScienceDaily · Scientists discover that cranberry juice may help fight tooth decay (29 Oct 2026)
• UIC today · Cranberry juice may be a boon for oral hygiene (20 Oct 2026)
• Scientific Reports · In vivo exposure to cranberry juice suppresses dental plaque regrowth and acid production in adults and children: a PGRM study (2026)

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