This morning I had to endure another conversation(to be put mildly) regarding sweets and tooth decay.
Being the paranoid person I am, before I jump into anything, I read and research as much as possible. This was so before, during and after my pregnancy and still to this day. I even own a copy of the Supernanny book – yes I do – dont mock me.
Some people go on what they have heard from others. While yes, advice from your peers is helpful, you shouldn’t believe everything you hear.
In this case: “Suckers, hard boiled, even soft candies and jannie verjaar colddrink(the red juice you mix with water) is better than chocolate”.
My stance is that chocolate is the lesser of two evils, but in a moment of doubt, I turned to my faithful friend, Google.
Firstly I searched “chocolate and tooth decay”, well the first few articles(be my guest and check for yourself) actually state that chocolate can PREVENT tooth decay. My second search was “candy and tooth decay”, the articles I checked all said the same thing. Given the choice between a hardboiled/soft/sticky sweet and chocolate, opt for chocolate.
One of the main arguments is that chocolate dissolves quickly in the mouth where a hard candy is in the mouth for a prolonged time exposing teeth to sugar. Chocolate(C also apparently contans anti bacterial agents that slow the plaque forming process thus slowing decay and it is this property that offsets the high sugar content in chocolate. One article even suggested that certain agents in chocolate may actually be used in toothpaste one day(no more issues asking your children to brush their teeth!)
I am not advocating that we start shovelling our children with chocolate, as they say everything in moderation, but the next time you are choosing a treat for your children, choose chocolate.
ITS THE RIGHT THING TO DO (Nevermind the fact that you will save on dental bills!)
The moral of this story is: Before you start arguing about something you think you know something about, do a little research instead of believing a mouthul of BS. This includes what I say.
