How sugar-free gum affects oral hygiene
Article Source: HealthSnare.com
While dentists and oral hygienists often recommend chewing sugar-free gum between meals to help remove trapped food from between the teeth, reports from the American Diabetic Association shows that certain sugar-free products, such as sugar-free gum, may actually worsen oral health.
Link between sugar-free products and oral hygiene
These reports explain that certain companies producing sugar-free products add "sugar alcohols" as an "artificial" replacement for sugar, and that there is evidence to suggest that such products can still raise blood sugar and increase risk of dental caries, especially where individuals are more predisposed to onset of hypertriglyceridemia and gastrointestinal irregularities that can result from high fructose levels.
Use of sugar alcohol
Sugar alcohols may also be called "polyols" and are labelled differently in products, such as lactitol, sorbitol, xylitol, maltitol, mannitol and isomalt. Part of the structure of the "sugar alcohols" resembles sugar and the other part, alcohol. Plant products, such as berries and certain fruits, produce sugar alcohols naturally and therefore they have become common for use as a sugar substitute. Sugar alcohols are not only used in chewing gum, but also in certain toothpastes, because they pose less risk of tooth decay than if regular sugar is used.
Sugar alcohol, calories and blood sugar
For people who diet, products containing sugar alcohol sometimes have less calories than if normal sugar is used. Per gram of normal sugar, there is usually approximately 4 calories present. With sugar-free products containing sugar-alcohol, there may be between 1.5 to 3 calories per gram. Sugar alcohol transforms to glucose at a slower rate than normal sugar. In the metabolic process, less insulin is needed and for this reason it is thought that these sugar-free products do not cause quick increases in blood sugar. Diabetics often use sugar free products for this reason. People therefore may think it is safe to consume more of these products frequently.
Managing use of "sugar-free" products
Depending on quantity, consuming sugar-free products containing sugar alcohol can still raise blood sugar. Reducing too much calorie and sugar intake can also substantially lower blood sugar resulting in conditions such as diabetes and periodontitis. For this reason, the American Diabetic Association recommends learning about "sugar-free" content from product labels and understanding how quantity may impact blood sugar levels, dental and overall health. Nutritional information and dietary guidelines provided through the U.S. Department of Health may be useful as a guide, or in the case of the U.K., the National Health Service (NHS).
About the Author
Article Submitted By:
Alex Cunningham
Html View
Total views: 3
Word Count: 462
Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 Time: 11:05 PM
Publish/Share this article
To use this article on your site click here to get the HTML code |Remember: The article body, title, author bio and links may not be changed or removed. By publishing this article, you agree to all the terms in our Terms of Service.
Rating: Not yet rated
