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| Author |
Message |
jep
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lemons and teeth
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Oct 23 20:01 UTC 2003 |
My son, who likes to eat lemons, told me his teacher said they can be
bad for your teeth. Supposedly they erode the enamel on your teeth.
I searched the Internet and got supporting information which seemed
spotty to me. Does anyone here know the facts?
Thanks!
Maybe I should call his dentist...
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| 29 responses total. |
jep
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response 1 of 29:
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Oct 23 20:07 UTC 2003 |
So I did. (Heh. I get so used to going to the Internet or Grex with
these questions...) His dentist said sucking on lemon juice is indeed
bad for your teeth. Apparently it could be quite a problem if you did
it all the time. John doesn't. The dentist also agreed that he
should be fine if he rinses his mouth afterward and brushes his teeth
right away.
So there we go. Another plot to get him to brush his teeth more often!
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tod
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response 2 of 29:
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Oct 23 20:14 UTC 2003 |
This response has been erased.
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other
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response 3 of 29:
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Oct 23 20:44 UTC 2003 |
The reason that sugar (and sugared sodas) is/are bad for your teeth is
that the organisms which thrive in your mouth on the sugars left from the
foods you eat produce acids which eat away at your tooth enamel. The
lemon juice just cuts out the middleman.
Eating foods and drinking beverages which are alkaline do somewhat
mitigate this process, but washing your mouth to reduce the quantity of
the organisms can't hurt.
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nalla
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response 4 of 29:
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Oct 23 21:36 UTC 2003 |
lets .. go .. wanna my it4s sucks
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jep
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response 5 of 29:
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Oct 26 03:57 UTC 2003 |
As it happened, I had a dentist visit on Friday which I forgot about
until I got to work. I brought up the topic of eating lemons with my
dentist. He was firmly against directly eating lemons. He said the
acid is pretty hard on your enamel. He said to squeeze the juice into
a glass of water; that will neutralize the acid a lot.
I was pretty surprised to find out lemons really are dangerous to
teeth. I'm glad I looked into it.
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other
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response 6 of 29:
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Oct 26 04:23 UTC 2003 |
Won't necessarily neutralize, but will dilute.
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rcurl
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response 7 of 29:
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Oct 26 06:41 UTC 2003 |
Ann Arbor water will neutralize small amounts of lemon juice.
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jep
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response 8 of 29:
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Oct 26 22:02 UTC 2003 |
Neutralize is the word my dentist used.
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other
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response 9 of 29:
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Oct 27 03:57 UTC 2003 |
And if the water you use is alkaline, then to a limited extent, it is
correct, but the primary effect will be dilution, NOT neutralization.
(You probably would not willingly drink water sufficiently alkaline to
neutralize lemon juice.)
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rcurl
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response 10 of 29:
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Oct 27 06:47 UTC 2003 |
I've measured Ann Arbor water up to pH = 10.
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other
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response 11 of 29:
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Oct 27 08:08 UTC 2003 |
And did YOU still want to drink it at that point?
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gelinas
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response 12 of 29:
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Oct 27 12:05 UTC 2003 |
(What is the lost pH you've measured in Ann Arbor water, Rane?)
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rcurl
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response 13 of 29:
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Oct 27 18:56 UTC 2003 |
I'll try to get a chance to recalibrate my meter, and check it.
There is no objectionable taste to pH 10 water. That's 10^(-4) molar OH-,
or the equivalent of about 4 milligrams of NaOH ("lye") per liter.
The EPA secondary maximum contaminant level (MCL) for pH in drinking water
is pH from 6.5 to 8.5. EPA secondary standareds are not enforced by the
EPA and are usually related to "cosmetic" issues and arevery conservative,
and other standards are adopted locally. For example, the Ohio secondary
MCL for pH is 7.0 to 10.5.
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gull
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response 14 of 29:
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Oct 27 21:17 UTC 2003 |
I assume acidic pH's are considered more problematic because of pipe
corrosion?
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rcurl
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response 15 of 29:
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Oct 27 23:22 UTC 2003 |
Yes. Alkalinity tends to protect against steel corrosion.
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tsty
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response 16 of 29:
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Nov 3 09:00 UTC 2003 |
question .. i ahve a buncha plastic jugs which are (triangle-5 compatible)
adn triangle-7 (0ther) which i use for water storage.
some of them work JustFine (tm) and some of them grow bacteria (grow
soemthing ...) and i wnat to knw how to ?? neutralize ??
whatever it is that exists and contaminates water.
i have thougth of a couple drops of bleach per gallon (they are
one-gallon jugs) and also a few drops of acid/lemon juice per gallon
as a "neutralizer."
after this process, empty, rinse, and refill with tap water.
rcurl is probably/possibly teh best source for an answer but any
argument will be considered.
i anticipate water-storage, safely, in excess of 12 months.
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ankh
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response 17 of 29:
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Nov 3 10:56 UTC 2003 |
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bru
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response 18 of 29:
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Nov 3 12:52 UTC 2003 |
for long term storage I have always heard a few drops of bleach per gallon.
No rinsing, just leave the bleach in the water. After time passes the bleach
is netralized by sunlight and the water ahd to be replaced. Bleach will not
hurt you in small amounts. (ever swallow any pool water?)
use of lemon will just add a bacterial growth medium.
Try boiling water prior to pouring into container as well.
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scott
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response 19 of 29:
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Nov 3 14:04 UTC 2003 |
You could also look into iodine-based sanitisers, which break down in
sunlight. Often used in beer brewing...
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gull
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response 20 of 29:
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Nov 3 14:18 UTC 2003 |
If you're going to boil it before putting it in, you might as well just
buy distilled water. It will taste just as bad, be just as safe, and be
less work.
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lk
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response 21 of 29:
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Nov 3 18:56 UTC 2003 |
Boiled water tastes bad?
No wonder I can't make a good cup of coffee!
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tod
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response 22 of 29:
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Nov 3 19:17 UTC 2003 |
This response has been erased.
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rcurl
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response 23 of 29:
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Nov 3 20:09 UTC 2003 |
The answer is, as bru and scott point out, to sterilize the water with
bleach or an iodine disinfectant (I prefer the taste of the iodine to that
of chlorine) and then keep the water sterile by keeping it tightly sealed.
Boiling also sterilizes the water, but drives out dissolved air and
"flattens" the taste. The problem with boiling to prepare the water for
long time storage is to keep it sterile while it cools. That can only be
done by putting the water in the bottles, sealing them, and then putting
the filled bottles in boiling water long enough to sterilize the contents
(as one does when canning foods). Leave very little air in the bottles if
you do this, however. The pressure of the air left, plus that of the vapor
pressure of the water, plus dissolved air coming out of solution, will
increase the pressure in the bottles to above atmospheric while boiling
them.
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scott
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response 24 of 29:
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Nov 3 21:20 UTC 2003 |
...which is, of course, an application for mason jars. The lid is designed
to allow steam to escape during the boiling procedure, then seal with a vacuum
during cooling.
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