又到了科學時刻讀信時間。
A listener writes in: Dear A Moment of Science, Ilove to eat sweets--candy, cookies, caramel apples---everything. But I don't like getting cavities. Is therea way to eat lots of sugar without ruining your teeth?
一位聽眾寫信說:親愛的科學時刻欄目組,我愛吃所有的甜食,糖果,餅干,焦糖蘋果等等。但是我討厭蛀牙。有沒有一種方法能讓我既吃許多甜食又不蛀牙呢?
Interesting question. First, let's assume that you'renot going to cut out sweets entirely. So what are your options? If you're going to eat candy, forexample, it's best to eat a bunch all at once instead of eating a few pieces at a time throughoutthe day.
這個問題很有趣。首先,我們假設(shè)你不準備徹底戒食甜品。所以你會選擇怎么做?假設(shè)你要吃糖果,最好是一下子吃完,而不是每次只吃一兩塊,每天吃幾次。
That's because every time you eat sugar, or any carbohydrate like potato chips or crackers orwhatever, there's a thirty- to sixty-minute period where bacteria in your mouth feed on thecarbs and produce acid. The acid is what eats away at your teeth. So if you're snacking oncandy several times a day instead of just once, your teeth are exposed to more cavity-causingacid.
這是因為每次你吃糖或者其它含糖高的食物時,比如薯條或者薄脆餅干,有30至60分鐘牙齒里細菌吸收糖分,并生成酸性物質(zhì)。這些酸性物質(zhì)會腐蝕你的牙齒。所以如果你一天吃幾次糖果,那么牙齒就會接觸到更多酸性物質(zhì),從而導致蛀牙。
It's also smart to eat candy around or just after mealtimes, because during meals you have anincreased flow of saliva that helps wash out your mouth and creates a kind of buffer betweenyour teeth and the bacterial acid.
飯前飯后吃糖果也是明智的選擇,因為進餐時口內(nèi)分泌的唾液增多,以幫助清潔口腔,同時也會在牙齒和細菌分泌的酸性物質(zhì)之間生成一種酸堿緩沖液。
Your best bet, of course, is to lay off the candy. But of course that's easier said than done.
當然,最好的方法就是遠離糖果。不過人總是說起來容易做起來難。