They Say: Gum is Good for You!
Remember the ad that went “dentists recommend sugar-free gum for their patients who chew gum?” Now they’re trying to convince us to take up gum-chewing; yes, even to give gum to our small children to “protect” their teeth.
The idea is that sugar-free gum using the sweetner, xylitol, is protective to teeth because xylitol has mild antimicrobial properties and might reduce mouth bacteria such that it prevents cavities. Ohhh-kay. But according to the research the gum has to have a certain amount of xylitol–quite a lot–to have an effect. The amounts aren’t listed on the package. Instead you’re supposed to judge by the rule of thumb that there is “probably” enough if xylitol is the first ingredient on the gum wrapper. But even if there is enough xylitol to have an effect, you still have to chew two pieces of gum, three times a day, at minimum, to have a positive effect.
Now, the food industry is also suggesting that if your kid is too young to chew gum, you should give her “xylitol syrup” everyday. What a coup for the xylitol makers, eh?
Me, I won’t be shoveling an extra dose of artificial sweetner into my kids any time soon. And no one is going to convince me that the grocery check out line is now a health food aisle. Considering that xylitol is supposed to counteract the problem of kids getting too much refined sugar–which is hard on teeth–I have a better idea. Cut down on the refined sugar. Gee what a novel concept.
Oh, and brush your teeth.
image: candlemaking.com
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Tags: chewing gum, dental health, gum, kids' teeth, Shannon LC Cate, sugar-free gum, xylitol
4 Comments
TMC commented on Jul 22 09 at 1:22 pmXylitol has been been proven to kill animals, dogs specifically, when consumed in even small quantities. If it would kill my dog I would not be quick to give it to my children. I am afraid of the day that they stop writing Xylitol in big letters on the front of the packages that contain the ingredient for fear that my dogs may get into it and lose their lives over a pack of gum.
GP commented on Jul 22 09 at 2:16 pmGum chewing is a tacky and low-class habit. It should not be encouraged.
Lisa commented on Jul 22 09 at 2:37 pmTMC — coffee, chocolate, onions will also kill dogs. I don’t think the “dangerous to animals” reasoning necessarily stands up here.
Xylitol is a naturally occuring sugar. Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylitol. This is not to say that I’m going to encourage my child in Orbit gum; however, I don’t think it’s nearly as bad as some of the sugars found in other kids foods. ICheck out the npr piece linked in the main article. It was pretty interesting.
But yeah, chewing gum is not the classiest. The thing is to teach your kids how to chew gum without looking like a cow.
Shannon LC Cate commented on Jul 22 09 at 2:44 pmAll artificial sweetners are “naturally occurring sugars.” That doesn’t mean they can’t also be bad for you.
