Very Random Question

[ediddly]

so consuming sugar, candy, etc. is bad for your teeth. a friend told me recently that sugar substitutes like aspartame and sucralose (found in diet sodas, etc.) are even worse. does anyone know if there is any truth to this claim?

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[The Godfather]

so consuming sugar, candy, etc. is bad for your teeth. a friend told me recently that sugar substitutes like aspartame and sucralose (found in diet sodas, etc.) are even worse. does anyone know if there is any truth to this claim?

I've never heard anything about teeth and the sugar substitutes. I know there are a lot of folks like my biochem professor that tell us not to take aspartame since during metabolism, methanol is given off. This can supposedly lead to blindness (the same reason they used to say that moonshine would cause it - methanol (or wood-alcohol) was often being used as a cheaper alternative to grain)). Something to do with damaging the optic nerve. I looked into it and it seems like that it would take ingesting a lot to do that (kind of like the saccharin scare of the 80's). I don't see how the oral bacteria could use it as a food source, of course anything is possible in organisms that can have relatively rapid mutations. Just my 2c. I'll step back and let the pros in d school have a crack.

 

[45540]

no, it is not bad for your teeth. Sugar substitutes can be mildly consumed by bacteria, but not near as much as any other sugars.

But as far as them being good for you overall, it's probably not the best thing, but I like diet coke and crystal light.

 

[cmj2]

so consuming sugar, candy, etc. is bad for your teeth. a friend told me recently that sugar substitutes like aspartame and sucralose (found in diet sodas, etc.) are even worse. does anyone know if there is any truth to this claim?

well, actually, Ive heard a lot of studies going on about the benefits of "sugar alcohols" like xylitol. i dont know why they are called "alcohols" because they do not contain alcohols. at uw, a study is being done that asks pregnant women to chew xylitol gum. a navy dentist told me that xylitol not only decreases decay rate (by decreasing acidity of mouth?) and that it also reverses an decalcification that has already occurred.

i use sucralose (aka splenda) and my logic is that it should not increase decay. since it is like 500x sweeter than regular sugar, consumption is also much lower. this is just my guess.

however, with the xylitol gum studies, which is also a sugar alternative recommeded by the Atkins diet, it may actually decrease decay rates.
what do you think?