The oral health of athletes

Oral health is more important than you think for your quality of life as an athlete.

We're not just talking about oral pathologies and complications, but how it directly affects your overall well-being.

Eating is a pleasure that makes a difference in our quality of life.

On the other hand, when it comes to staying hydrated, there's a "golden rule" that says:

Frequently consume diluted sports drinks (~200 ml) with a carbohydrate concentration of 9% or less.

The most concentrated solutions (≥ 10%) are ideal for post-competition, glycogen supercompensation, or recovery after intense training.

How can our GLYCOGEN RECOVERY DRINK be?

Returning to oral health.

The incidence of caries and erosion risks are complex, but frequent intake of fermentable carbohydrates and beverages with low pH and high buffering capacity have been found to have a negative impact.

In this study, they compared 3 major sports drinks to see the impact they have on our oral health.

1. Hydrogel (contained Maltodextrin and Fructose).
2. Commercial drink based on Maltodextrin and Sucrose.
3. Commercial drink based on Amylopectin.

Six subjects were used, whose pH was measured in a resting situation, after ingesting said beverage.

The result was as follows.

Maltodextrin + Fructose induced a less pronounced maximum pH drop and a faster pH recovery compared to the other beverages.

This suggests a reduced risk of enamel and dentin demineralization and therefore reduced potential cariogenicity.

Here is the graph.

Continuing with another factor.

The addition of acidulants (e.g. citric acid) in sports drinks could represent an additional point of such impact on the pH of the Dental Biofilm.

In this study, the three drinks differed in acidity.

Maltodextrin + fructose drinks like our GLUT 5 DRINK or ISO DRINK or any of our gels do not contain acidulants (pH 6.0).

It would result, during resting conditions, in a less pronounced drop in the pH of the dental biofilm compared to formulations containing citric acid or amylopectin-containing beverages with pH 3.9 or 3.2.

In summary,

According to current scientific evidence, we would not recommend gels or products with acidulants that cause problems in the oral health of athletes.

Literature

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