Is Drinking Too Much Sparkling Water Bad for You?

In the fridge of our rented house 

One of the houses we rented during our recent trip had some fizzy (or sparkling) drinking water in the fridge. My younger boy tried it and seemed to like it. It was just a novelty to him. At home in Singapore, we drink filtered water and my wife doesn't allow our boys any sodas or fizzy drinks.

On the topic of sodas, some of you may remember I used to drink lots of Coca Cola while I was still competing. Actually until just before my accident. Sometimes I still get an urge to drink them, especially after a long bike ride.

Very few things beat the refreshing taste of an ice cold Coke or 100 Plus after a tough workout. One of my patients tells me he drinks sparkling Perrier water with lime to get the refreshing sensation without the sugar. He was also concerned about whether the bubbles (or carbonation) was bad for his teeth.

What my patient drinks after exercise

Yes, remember I wrote previously about how endurance athletes had significantly higher rates of tooth erosion.

So I decided to do a little search. Here's what I found regarding sparkling water. Unlike sports drinks, the carbonation in the sparking water will probably not erode your enamel and wear out your teeth (Reddy et al, 2016). Since sparkling water has no phosphoric acid, it won't affect your calcium absorption and leech the calcium from your bones.

Unlike here in Singapore, sparkling water is very popular in the United States of America and Europe. In America, sales of sparkling water from La Croix went from $10 million in 2010 to $667 million in 2016.

So the evidence seems to suggest that plain carbonated (or sparkling) water is just as hydrating and healthy as regular (flat) water. Just be wary of the flavored varieties as some may have added sugar. That's when your dental health may be affected if your consume too much of it.

 If your crave some flavor, I'll recommend adding some fruit. I often add lemons (yes, you read correctly) in my drinking bottle while cycling.

Lemons in my cycling bottle

Other than lemons, at home I like mint and watermelons. But that's just me.

Reference

Avanija R, Norris DF et al (2016). The PH Of Beverages In The United States. J Am Dental Assoc. 147(4): 255-263. DOI: 10.1016/j.adaj.2015.10.019.

Plain sparking water is best

Can Running (And Other Endurance Sports) Lead To Worse Dental Health?

Picture by Jason Lee from Flickr

While out with my son earlier today, I met a patient asking why I hadn't written recently. I told her that since Luis Suarez and his teeth attracted attention for all the wrong reasons recently at the World Cup, I'll be writing a post on teeth as well. She then asked me what does running have to do with teeth?

Well here you go Audrey, a post on how running (or endurance exercise) can affect your teeth.

A group of German researchers studied a group of triathletes and non athletes and found that the triathletes had significantly higher rates of tooth erosion. What's more, among the athletes, those who trained harder had more cavities than those who trained less.

The researchers found that 46% of the athletes consumed sports drinks while training, while 51% drank water. 74% used gels or bars during training. Both groups revealed no significant difference in cavities, but those who trained the most amongst the triathletes had the most cavities. There was also a highly significant difference in the triathlete group for tooth erosion.

Like me, you must be starting to scratch your head and wonder why. Well, due to the triathletes high carbohydrate consumption of which includes gels, bars and sports drinks during training, their mouth's pH levels are below 5.5 (and  hence acidic), leading to dental erosion and cavities. In addition, during hard training, the athletes breathe through their mouth, making the mouth dry and produces less saliva (more acidic), which normally protects the teeth.

Note that both groups had similar saliva profile at rest. Only when the athletes begin exercising then they had less saliva. Degree of acidity increased with the length of time spent exercising.

The researchers concluded that endurance training has a detrimental effect on oral health.

This view has been raised before by Needleman and colleagues who found poor dental and even overall health in many Olympic athletes at the London 2012 Olympics (Needleman et al, 2013). Prof Tim Noakes suggested that this may happen due to their high carbohydrate diet and the frequent ingestion of sports drinks.

So make sure you brush your teeth following your bike or run session, especially if you've consumed gels, bars or sports drinks during or after your run.

References

Needleman I, Ashley P et al (2013). Oral Health And Impact On Performance Of Athletes Participating On The London 2012 Olympic Games: A Cross-sectional Study. BJSM. 47:1054-1136.doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2013-092891.

Frese C, Frese F et al (2014). Effect Of Endurance training On Dental Erosion, Caries, And Saliva. Scan J Med Sci Sports. doi: 10.1111/sms.12266.

Always clean your teeth after you run

Picture by doc18 from Flickr