THECUBAREVIEW 2^ 



sugar in dilute form, as, for instance, when we add it to tea or coffee, sprinkle it on fruit, add it 

 with milk or cream to breakfast cereals, or use it in other similar ways. 



SUGAR AND THE TEETH 



It is often said that sugar is harmful to the teeth, but the facts seem to be as follows: Ac- 

 cordmg to the theory universally accepted, the decay of the teeth, technically called caries, is 

 caused by bacteria, such as are found in every mouth, entering the soft portions of the teeth 

 through defects in the hard outer covering. If acid is present in the mouth, and especially in 

 the interstices of the teeth, it tends to eat into the enamel and thus provide an entrance for the 

 caries-producing bacteria. Ordmarily, saliva is alkaline and protects the teeth against this 

 danger, but when it is in contact with sugar or starch, acid is produced, hence a carbohydrate 

 material lodged upon the teeth may be the indirect cause of caries. Some autliorities hold that 

 certain forms of sugar cause the flow of a less alkaline saliva, but this point is not fully established. 

 In general, it is believed that starch is just as dangerous as sugar, and that the form and man- 

 ner in which the material is eaten is a more important consideration than its exact chemical 

 structure. Soft foods are especially likely to cause trouble, both because bits of them may 

 remain on the teeth where they form "plaques'' which are centers of bacterial action .so long^ 

 as they remain, and because they are swallowed without much chewing and thus do not rub 

 the food "plaques" or other deposits from the teeth. Modern specialists consider that the cleans- 

 ing action of proper mastication is as important for the preservation of the teeth as the regular 

 use of a toothbrush, important as this last is. Any soft carbohydrate food eaten alone is much 

 more likely to leave a deposit on the teeth than if it is eaten in combination with other foods. 

 If candies are eaten by themselves, they are more likely to cause the development of acid in the 

 mouth than if they are taken during a meal. Some physicians advise finishing the meal with; 

 acid fruit for the sake of lessening the chance of carbohydrate material clinging to the teeth. 

 While soft foods may possibly cause trouble, the hard ones may also be dangerous, especially to 

 diseased teeth, as the effort to crush them may tend to increase flaws in the enamel. Such 

 things as hard crusty food, hard candies such as lemon drojjs, stock candy, etc., may be 

 dangerous in this respect, though investigations by G. V. Black (o) on the crushing force of the 

 teeth have pro\ ed that sound teeth are capable of crushing much harder substances than these 

 without injury. 



EFFECT OF EXERCISE ON THE AMOUNT OF SUGAR WHICH MAY BE EATEN 



The amount of sugar that may be eaten without bad effects depends much on the amount 

 of exercise taken. It has been observed that a man doing hard work in the open air can easily 

 assimilate large quantities of sugar, while the same quantity would cause indigestion if eaten 

 when living indoors and taking little exercise. This is what might be expected, as the active 

 outdoor lite means much physical work or exercise, either of which involves much muscular 

 energy. Sugar, as has been pointed out, is a valuable energy-yielding food. 



SUGAR IN COOKING, PRESERVING AND CONFECTIONERY. 



Sugar is used in cookery, in the manufacture of confectionery, which is almost entirely 

 sugar, and as an addition to a great variety of foods. It is almost always used with cooked 

 fruits, cakes, pastry, and, in general, food made with eggs and flour, and very rarely with meat 

 dishes in modern cookery, though often added in earlier times, as old recipe books show, to 

 meat pies, which were heavilj^ seasoned with sugar and spice. Mince pie is one of the very 

 few surviving representatives of such foods. Sugar and fat are often cooked together, and 

 many foods, butter-scotch for example, owe their pleasing flavor to this combination. Sugar 

 and suet are often used, as in puddings, but less often now than formerly. 



Sugar added in cakes and pastry affects the texture as well as the composition and flavor, 

 as any cook knows. A special form of cookery is the making of preserves, jams, jellies, etc.,. 

 and in these sugar in thick, heavy solution not only adds to the palatability and character of 

 the flavor, but it also acts as a preservative. On the contrary, thin solutions of sugar alone 

 or with fruit juices, etc., are very readily subject to decomposition by microorganisms. Hence, 

 in order that it may act as a preservative, a solution of sugar must be concentrated. 



Without doubt more sugar is used in cookery and in making jams, jellies, and preserves^ 

 o A work on operative dentistry, Chicago and London, 1908, Vol. I, p. 161. 



