😬 The best way to get cavities:
While I was at lunch, I did a "lunch and learn" on the best way to get cavities. (I may do more of these if you enjoy them.)
47% of added sugar is from sweetened beverages like soda and fruit drinks.
Sugar drinks are particularly devastating for oral health.
Bacteria in the mouth ferment the sugar and produce acids that demineralize the teeth.
To make matters worse, most store-bought beverages (93%) are already acidic (pH < 4) due to ingredients
like citric acid and phosphoric acid (H₃PO₄).
H₃PO₄ (think soda) also interferes with calcium absorption (and is corrosive to mucous membranes).
Luckily, we have saliva that can buffer these acid attacks and remineralize teeth.
During your life, you should produce 2 swimming pools of saliva!
Here's a test to make sure you're on pace.
The only problem is...
Drinking doesn't stimulate saliva (like eating does).
The result:
Just 1 sip of red bull takes 22 minutes to neutralize the acid.
Sipping on these drinks throughout the day = constant acid attack.
Food for Thought:
Normal blood sugar
= 1 teaspoon of sugar in 5 liters of blood
Average sugar consumption per day = 17 teaspoons