Sunday, May 6, 2012

Sports & Energy Drinks Damage Teeth
By Rupert Shepherd

This article is about how sports and energy drinks damage teeth over time. The article states that drinking energy drinks is like "bathing their teeth in acid" and can cause erosion of enamel. Through an experiment using various drinks 4 times a day to bathe enamel alternating with an artificial saliva solution, scientists discovered that these drinks cause twice the damage of normal sports drinks. It also states that natural fruit juices and water even can be better for teens than "smart drinks" which may not be so smart in the long run.

This relates to our current unit because the enamel decay could easily lead to a problem in mechanical digestion. As well as that, this is a homeostatic imbalance because of the pH change caused by overly acidic energy drinks. We have had a heavy focus of homeostatic balance and how different systems help maintain it including how the digestive system helps to obtain necessary nutrients for the body's natural processes.

4 comments:

  1. Does the acidity have any effect on the rest of the digestive system? If so, what might the effect(s) be?

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    1. I would assume that the rest of the digestive system would have effected pH levels. The small intestine would probably be less effective because it is a basic environment, while the stomach would become more acidic.

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  2. Given the reaction of enamel to acidic environments, what do you think the reaction to basic substances would be like?

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    Replies
    1. According to various sources, higher pH levels have little to no effect on tooth enamel.

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