Medical Questions » Diet Questions » Question No. 1192
| Question: | Is it true that fruit juice rots your teeth? |
| Answer: | Yes. Both fruit and fruit juice contains acids which are the major cause of tooth erosion, thinning the enamel on teeth, both at the front and back. Worst of all are sweetened fizzy fruit juices, as the carbonation makes even more acids. Tooth-rotting acids are also made by bacteria that turn sugars into acids.
Fruits that aren' t properly ripened and taste sour are bad news - that sour taste is acid. Blackcurrants, grapes and citrus fruits are the worst. Grapes are particularly bad because their sweetness masks the sour taste of the high tartaric acid level in them.
That' s why wine drinkers tend to have more tooth erosion. Pears and bananas are the least harmful to teeth.
But of course, both fruit and fruit juice have other health benefits, so here' s what you can do to get the best of both worlds. If you' re going to drink fruit juice, dilute it at least half and half with still water.
Accompany your apple or pear with a few almonds; they' re high in calcium and so good at neutralising acids. And have yoghurt with your fruit. If the fruit is hard, like a Conference pear, but not sour, the fibres will actually benefit your teeth by giving them a good wash. |
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