Sports Drinks - Not What You Might Hope They Are.

Have you checked out the ingredients of your "sports drink?"  Basically you will find:  1) water,  2) sugar of some kind,  3) organic acids (or citrus juices) for the tangy taste, and  4) some electrolytes.

The water is obvious and great.  We need to rehydrate during and after sweaty exercise.  No problem.

Sugar of some kind?  The amount of Calories we burn during exercise is not as much as you might think.  A jogger running for an hour only uses about 400 Calories.  (Just 1 scone at your favorite coffee shop will replace that!)  A marathon runner will run for 3 hard hours before he depletes his easily available glucose energy storage in his muscles.  Sports event players don't need sugar of any kind in their water.  To the contrary, adults and kids alike are consuming hundreds of excess (un-necessary) calories, empty calories (containing no nutrients to help adequately metabolize the calories), with these drinks.

The sipping nature that many people employ drinking these sports drinks is also boosting the sugar loving, cavity causing germs in our mouths.  The bacteria that cause cavities will thrive at high metabolic rates for 40 minutes following a simple sugar exposure.  Assuming 3 meals and 2 snacks, the teeth are under acid attack 4 hours.  The other 20 hours each day the teeth are recovering calcium from the saliva.

People who sip sports drinks from backpacks or before, during and after sports events and celebrations have their teeth under attack a majority of the day with inadequate recovery times to maintain healthy enamel.  Screw cap lids make it possible to sip these beverages all day and for those children who do, the teeth have no opportunity to recover the calcium lost during the constant acid attack of the bacteria.  Their cavity rates begin to soar.

The human condition has evolved over several millennia with water to hydrate us.  In the last couple decades sports drinks have not made us healthier or improved our sports performance.  However, they have:

1)  Done huge damage to our teeth and oral health.

2)  Contributed heavily to an overweight and obese population, especially our kids, that pediatricians and other physicians and health care workers are working desperately to change.

3)  Been a significant contributor to the growing problem of Type II diabetes in our children.

A third and highly “hyped” ingredient is electrolytes.  Electrolyte replacement with these sports drinks is not necessary and inefficient besides.  With a mere 25 cent envelope of Emergen-C I can:  1) replace those electrolytes and more,  2) get a healthy dose of vitamins and minerals as well,  3) get only 25 Calories in the bargain, and  4) gulp it down in short order any time during the day so it is not bathing my teeth for hours.  The real bottom line, however, is that our daily diet gives us adequate electrolytes each day so unless you are an extreme athlete doing strenuous exercise several hours each day, you don’t need to be concerned about electrolytes.  If you are truly concerned about chemical balance, the 3^rd article in this series on sports drinks will address a few additives of real “concern” that are in these sports drinks.

The last primary ingredient in sports drinks is organic acids (citric acid, ascorbic acid, malic acid, etc.)  Next week I'll tell you how to dissolve the enamel off your teeth the easy way with sports drinks.

Accompany Your Child at the Dentist

Why parents are invited into appointments (dental and medical) with their children.

The objective of a dental check-up for a child is the same as it is for a "Well Child Exam"' at the physician.  The purpose is to help parents support the growth of a healthy child.  If a parent is to learn:

1.      What the risk factors for dental disease are for her child.  And how to change those risk factors.

2.      What specific things to do to make tooth cleaning efforts simpler, quicker and at the same time more effective.

3.      The pitfalls to avoid that would lead to high cavity rates and diminished general health.

4.      What to anticipate and plan for to achieve optimum oral health and facial development and a beautiful smile.

The parent must be present in the exam appointment and preferably in work appointments as well if they are necessary.  Well child visits, whether medical or dental, have very little value it the parent is not present to learn.

In our office parents are invited to participate in all appointments. There is so much to learn that will make your child's health better and the parent’s work simpler and effective.

Chew Gum for Fewer Cavities

Chewing gum has been controversial in dentistry for a long time.  Chewing gum stimulates saliva flow.  Since saliva is the mouth’s primary defense against the acids made by the cavity causing bacteria, it helps prevent cavities.  HOWEVER, chewing sugary gum also feeds and promotes the growth of the cavity causing germs.  The net result is that those who chew sugared gums will actually increase cavities.

If you chew sugar free gum (sweetened with sorbitol, manitol) you will not feed those bacteria and you will improve saliva flow to neutralize bacterial acids.  These gums do not promote cavities; however the increased saliva flow is not enough to make a measurable reduction in cavities either.

However, statistics are clear that Xylitol, one of the non-sugar sweeteners, will inhibit the primary bacteria involved in cavities and can reduce your cavity experience!  If you chew several sticks of gum daily, by using a Xylitol gum you will continue to stimulate saliva flow (good for oral health) and you will inhibit and reduce the bacteria that cause cavities (good for dental health).

Note the gum should have Xylitol listed as the first ingredient and it is best if it has 1 gram or more of Xylitol.  Chew 4 or more sticks of gum daily.  Do you pop mints during the day?  You can get the same benefits and stop destroying your teeth by choosing a Xylitol mint.  These gums and mints are available in health food stores and on line.  Just Google “Xylitol” to find all the research and retail information you want.  Original research started in Sweden over 40 years ago and has been confirmed in multiple studies worldwide since.

Pop mints or chew your way to improved dental health.