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Myths, Part 2 |
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Cavities
Sugar causes cavities, right? Are you hesitating? Has this debunking of chocolate myths got you unsure of yourself, even of something so elemental as the fact that sugar causes cavities? Well, in this case, you're right. Sugar does cause cavities. But there's more to the story than that.
Cavities are caused by bacteria in our mouths. These bacteria feed on simple carbohydrates and transform them into acid. The bacteria also combine with other substances in our food to form plaque, that sticky stuff we brush off every morning. When the bacteria and plaque stick to our teeth and produce acid, the acid weakens the enamel on our teeth, eventually "drilling" holes into the teeth that then let even more bacteria and acid in toward the nerve. Ouch.
Bacteria can use any simple carbohydrate to pull this off. That means sugar works well, but so does flour, rice, potatoes, and pasta. This is why primitive hunter-gatherer tribes, who have no agriculture and eat almost no carbohydrates, don't even have words for cavities, much less for toothbrush. What dentists are starting to realize is that it is not the sweetness of a carbohydrate that makes it a cavity-causer, but how long it takes that |
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