Doing This Every Day Will Reduce Your Cancer Risk By 20%

New York University researchers found that certain bacteria in the mouth can increase the risk for esophageal cancer by up to 21 percent. Regularly brushing your teeth can get rid of this bacteria and reduce your cancer risk by the same amount.

Brushing to get rid of bacteria

The study involved 122,000 people and recorded how many participants developed esophageal cancer over the study’s 10-year period. They identified two types of bacteria, Tannerella forsythia and Porphyromonas gingivalis, that can develop esophageal cancer when present in high amounts. Participants with high levels of these bacteria were up to 21 percent more likely to develop esophageal cancer.

Importance of brushing regularly

Although other types of bacteria are found in the mouth, these two types can lead to esophageal cancer. Esophageal cancer is deadly. Explains lead author of the study, Professor Jiyoung Ahn, “Esophageal cancer is a highly fatal cancer, and there is an urgent need for new avenues of prevention, risk stratification, and early detection.”

Learn more about esophageal cancer by visiting www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/esophageal-cancer/symptoms-causes/syc-20356084