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Flavored waters
— yes, including La Croix — are eroding your teeth
BY ELLIE
KRIEGER
SPECIAL TO THE
WASHINGTON POST
If
sipping flavored water keeps you going throughout the day, I am sorry to burst
your bubble.
I know
you are trying to do the right thing, staying hydrated and avoiding sugar and
additives from sodas and other soft drinks.
And the
variety of fun new flavors on the market make otherwise boring water exciting
to drink. If you are hooked, you are not alone.
Sales of
LaCroix water, for example, with its splashy packaging and playful flavors such
as tangerine and coconut, have more than doubled in the past two years, the
Wall Street Journal reported.
There has
also been an explosion of tasty still waters, with enticing flavors such as
strawberry kiwi, watermelon and raspberry.
But the
hard truth is that drinking too much flavored water - sparkling or still -
could do serious damage to your teeth.
The problem is that these drinks' flavor essences, mostly citric
and other fruit acids, cause significant tooth erosion - "the
incremental dissolving away of the enamel on the teeth, which, over time, can
affect their structural integrity, making them hypersensitive to temperature
and potentially more cavity-prone," explains Edmond R. Hewlett,
consumer adviser for the American Dental Association and professor at the UCLA
School of Dentistry.
A
beverage's pH is the main determinant of its potential to erode teeth. Anything
with a pH less than 4 is considered a threat to dental health; the lower the
pH, the more acidic a drink is, and the more harmful.
Regular
tap water typically has a pH between 6 and 8.
Carbonating
that (which is adding carbonic acid) lowers its pH to about 5. (Happily, that
is well in the tooth-safe zone, so you can go ahead and drink your plain
sparkling water without worry.)
The
trouble starts when flavors are added, and the citric acid commonly used in
bottled flavored waters is considered especially insidious because besides
lowering pH it also may remove calcium from the teeth.
A 2016
report published in the Journal of the American Dental Association found that
un-carbonated flavored waters such as grape, lemon or strawberry Dasani had a
pH of 3, only somewhat better than RC Cola and Coca-Cola, which were among the
most acidic tested, at 2.32 and 2.37 respectively (and which are close to the
pH 2.25 of pure lemon juice).
On its
website, Hint says the pH of its waters range from 3.5 to 4.
When you
add carbonation to flavored water, you get a one-two punch of acidity.
A 2007
study in the International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry concluded that
flavored sparkling waters, some with a pH as low as 2.7, have the same
corrosive potential as orange juice.
That's
not to say that either of those drinks are bad choices for your overall health;
they are just, in excess, potentially detrimental to your teeth.
It's also
worth noting that for those concerned about their body's overall acid-base
balance as it relates to health, just because flavored waters are acidic, it
does not mean they make your body more acidic.
Many foods
and drinks, such as tomatoes and orange juice, for example, are acidic
themselves but have an overall alkaline effect once metabolized.
Although
the news of the effect on your pearly whites might mean the end of the
honeymoon phase between you and your beloved flavored water, it doesn't have to
mean divorce.
Flavored
water is still way better to drink than soda, which is not only more erosive
but also has unhealthy amounts of sugar and empty calories.
Instead
of taking an all-or-nothing approach, consider these strategies to have your
otherwise healthful flavored water in a way that minimizes dental damage.
Don't use
it as your primary hydration. Enjoying a sparkling
mango water now and again isn't an issue.
"It's frequent, regular consumption that can be dangerous to
our teeth," Hewlett says.
"The problem is when people drink these beverages instead of
plain water as their main hydration. The best beverage you can drink is plain
fluoridated water."
So, sip
regular water or plain carbonated water to stay hydrated throughout the day,
and save the flavored stuff for an occasional treat.
Minimize
time exposure. The faster you drink a beverage, the less contact it has
with your teeth and the more time saliva is allowed to do its job neutralizing
the acid in your mouth and returning it to the proper pH.
If you
are slowly sipping throughout the day, you are maintaining a consistent and
undesirably high acid level.
So, drink up, then be done with it. And contrary to what you might
suspect, "brushing your teeth right after may accelerate the loss of
enamel," Hewlett says, so don't do that.
Drink it
with a meal or snack. Eating stimulates the flow of acid-neutralizing saliva, so
save that bottle of strawberry-kiwi water to drink along with a meal or snack
to dilute the acid effect.
Don't be a swisher. "There is a
habit a lot of people have: holding or swishing carbonated water in their
mouth. This can exacerbate the issue," Hewlett says.
And
although there are no studies to confirm this, he says, it makes sense that
using a straw may help minimize exposure. It couldn't hurt.
Ellie
Krieger
is a registered dietitian, nutritionist and author who hosts public
television's "Ellie's Real Good Food." She blogs and offers a weekly
newsletter at elliekrieger.com. She also writes weekly Nourish recipes in The
Washington Post's Food section.
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