Energy Drinks Rot Teeth

This summer was extremely hot so I just wasn't thinking twice when it came to serving myself or my kids those energy drinks like Gatorade or PowerAde. I figured it was a very good idea to keep us hydrated and full of potassium so that nobody got heatstroke. 

 Like millions of women I also drink these calorie drinks after I work out and sometimes before.  I never dreamed in a million years that these types of drinks could actually be bad for you teeth. I had no idea that I was fueling tooth decay rather than my workouts!  

According to a press release put out by the California Dental Hygienists Association, the sugar in these power or energy drinks is leading to tooth decay.  What makes it even worse is that according to the study, the type of carbohydrates in these drinks also breaks down into compounds that make your saliva really acidic. Having acidic saliva is one of the main causes of tooth decay.  The carbs in these energy drinks break down into sugars that can really damage tooth enamel. 

The problem is made even worse by the fact that many athletes already suffer from what is known as 'cotton mouth' after exercising. Cottonmouth is just another word for having a really dry mouth. Having no saliva causes tooth decay as saliva act as a protective coating for our teeth against the acids that form in the mouth. This is why it is so essential to hydrate yourself fully hours before you exercise.  The best solution for post exercise dehydration after exercise might just be a glass of water if you want to protect your teeth from exercise related damage. 

To get rid of the energy drinks in my life I have taken to drinking more green tea and ginseng tea as both as energizers.  When it gets really hot I also make my own version of lemonade that is way less hard on the teeth.  I take a glass or plastic jug and fill it with ice. I then slice several lemons into halves and slices and squeeze them into the jug. I drop them into the jug with peel on and all. I then add about half a cup of sugar that has been thoroughly dissolved in hot water and muddle the mixture up with the ice in the jug.   The secret ingredient in this lemonade is about half a teaspoon of salt. Salt helps us retain water in the first place. Once everything has been mixed up I place this in the fridge. Over a day or two the lemons will infuse more flavor into the water making the lemonade stronger. You can then add more water as needed.  In fact the weaker this lemonade is, the more thirst quenching it seems to be. 

If you must use energy drinks it is probably a good idea to thoroughly brush your teeth afterwards or at the very least try to rinse the sugar off of your teeth by rinsing your mouth with water.

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Debunking Designer Running Shoes Again!

I know I have mentioned this before but you are wasting your money on fancy designer brand name running shoes and yet another research study has proved this.  I have suspected that you have been paying for nothing more than a name for many years. Now an article in the British Journal of Sports Medicine called “Do you get value for money when you buy an expensive pair of running shoes?”  has confirmed those suspicions for me.

Research has shown that you don't have to spend a big bundle of money to get good runners. Christian Nordquist, the author of the article discusses a research study where nine separate brands of running shoes were tested to see which was the best brand for the money.  They tested the shoes for durability and also in terms of being anatomically good for the fit by measuring how much pressure was put on the balls of the feet when they were worn.  

I was not surprised to find out that researchers found that there were no significant differences in plantar pressure between different brands and there were no major differences between the expensive and cheaper shoes.   The pressure was measured by sensors planted on the soles of the feet of 43 different people who were wearing the shoes to test them for durability and other factors.  It seems that even a shoe that was designed to be really sophisticated and good for your foot was not really that different from the 39 dollar running shoe in the first place. 

As many people have always suspected, you may be paying for brand name and status rather than performance when paying for a pricey pair of cross trainers. However even though we now know this there are some truths when it comes to buying quality running shoes. For one thing there are definitely some shoes out there that are knock offs and are made out of cardboard. You should still look for durable comfortable shoes that are made out of a long lasting material and that have a molded sole so that you do not damage your arch when you wear them. You should also look for running shoes with thick soles with the appropriate treads for what you are planning to do while wearing them. For instance you may not need a really thick sole if you are just walking in them but you might need it thicker if you are hiking through the woods in them. 

The hardest thing I find is talking my kids out of wanting some name brand running shoe they have seen on television. Sometimes they will settle for a knock off of a more expensive brand and sometimes not. It depends on your kid. Usually it is a less expensive designer brand that they will settle for rather than the purchase of the imitations. This is because kids at school nowadays are really good at spotting 'fakes!' 

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