Comparison of some salivary variables between vegetarians and omnivores

Abstract

Johansson G, Ravald N; Comparison of some salivary variables between vegetariatK and omnivores. Eur J Oral Sci 1995; 103; 95-98. © Munksgaard, 1995. The aim of the study was to compare salivary variables in a group of vegetarians with a group of omnivores. Twenty-nine vegetarians, 19 women and 10 men, mean age 35 yr, and 28 omnivores, 20 women and 8 men, mean age 35 yr, were compared in terms of salivary seeretion rate, pH, buffer capacity, mutans streptococci and lactobacilli. The vegetarians had a significantly higher secretion rate, but there were no other significant differences regarding the salivary variables. The difference in secretion rate may have been caused by some lifestyle faetor(s) differing between vegetarians and omnivores which probably mainly include nutrient(s), texture and roughness of the food.Previous studies have showo that dietary factors may affect sahva composition. In animals, starvation, malnutrition, low protein -in combination with low energy intake, prolonged protein deficiency starting in utero or after weaning -have been shovifn to cause a reduction in secretion rate (1-4). Dietary effects have also been demonstrated in human studies. In a previous study on vegetarians, no difference was shown in secretion rate between omnivores and lacto-vegetarians, but the secretion rate was lower in the vegetarians for the youngest age group (5). Long duration of the lacto-vegetarian diet increased the flow rate somewhat, if not statistically significantly. In another study by LINKOSALO et al (6) a lacto-ovo-vegetarian group tended to have a higher secretion rate than a control group, although no statistically significant difference were found. In a later study, it was demonstrated that the secretion rate was increased in both paraffin wax-stimulated whole saliva and citric acid stimulated parotid saliva when a group of omnivores changed to a lactovegetarian diet (7). DE MuNiz et al,(8) showed that a diet with higher levels of various nutrients and a rougher texture yielded a higher parotid secretion rate than a diet with smoother texture and lower values of the nutrients in children aged 6-12 yr. These changes may have been caused by nutrients per se or by less chewing. With the paucity of current information, it is not possible to distinguish between these explanations. The corroboration for chewing as an explanation of the effects is supported in animal studies (9-12) and in humans (13-16), where chewing and texture of food have been investigated.Salivary pH and buffer capacity are known to be mainly determined by the bicarbonate concentration, which is in turn influenced by flow rate, and to some extent by the duration of the stimulation (17). Previous studies on diet and buffer capacity have produced conflicting results (18-21). The secretion rate was not assessed in any of these studies, and therefore it is not known whether the buffer capacity was effected per se or indirectly via an altered secretion rate. In a recent study, the secretion rate as well as the buffer capacity in whol...

Lifestyle, Mental Health Status and Salivary Secretion Rates.

“…On the other hand, "nutritional balance" was not significantly related to the salivary secretion rates. Although one possible explanation is that one or more nutrients may contribute to the salivary secretion rates 2,3) , the present findings do not support this.…”

“…In previous studies, the saliva samples were collected by mainly chewing paraffin wax 2,3,14) , and in the present study, they were collected using Salivette ® . However, these methods include the possibility that the salivary secretion rates are affected by the individual variation of mastication during the collection of the Lifestyle is defined as "poor" when the HPI score is 0-3, "moderate" when the HPI score is 4-5 and "good" when the HPI score is 6−8.…”

“…Therefore, saliva is very important from the viewpoint of prevention of oral diseases such as oral caries or periodontitis. By comparing vegetarians with omnivores, Johansson et al 2,3) found that the salivary secretion rates were influenced by lifestyle. Namely, vegetarians showed significantly higher secretion rates.…”

Padrões dietéticos e condição bucal: uma revisão

“…Contrariamente, a literatura apresenta evidên-cias de que os vegetarianos tenham maior fl uxo salivar 22,23 ou pelo menos que este parâmetro não seja diferente entre vegetarianos e onívoros 24 . Isso está de acordo com outros estudos que verifi caram forte infl uência de dietas ricas em ácidos na secreção de fl uxo salivar antecipatório 25,26 .…”

Effects of raw vegan diet on periodontal and dental parameters

“…[ 18 ] reported lower flow and pH level of the saliva in vegetarians, which corresponds to our results. However, Johansson and Ravald [ 20 ] observed that the pH level of the saliva was higher among vegetarians than that the control group, although the difference was not statistically significant. They also noticed a remarkable increase in the salivary flow rate in the vegetarian group and considered this the reason for the more alkaline saliva in them.…”