又到了科学时刻读信时间。
A listener writes in: Dear A Moment of Science, Ilove to eat sweets--candy, cookies, caramel apples---everything. But I don't like getting cavities. Is therea way to eat lots of sugar without ruining your teeth?
一位听众写信说：亲爱的科学时刻栏目组，我爱吃所有的甜食，糖果，饼干，焦糖苹果等等。但是我讨厌蛀牙。有没有一种方法能让我既吃许多甜食又不蛀牙呢?
Interesting question. First, let's assume that you'renot going to cut out sweets entirely. So what are your options? If you're going to eat candy, forexample, it's best to eat a bunch all at once instead of eating a few pieces at a time throughoutthe day.
这个问题很有趣。首先，我们假设你不准备彻底戒食甜品。所以你会选择怎么做?假设你要吃糖果，最好是一下子吃完，而不是每次只吃一两块，每天吃几次。
That's because every time you eat sugar, or any carbohydrate like potato chips or crackers orwhatever, there's a thirty- to sixty-minute period where bacteria in your mouth feed on thecarbs and produce acid. The acid is what eats away at your teeth. So if you're snacking oncandy several times a day instead of just once, your teeth are exposed to more cavity-causingacid.
这是因为每次你吃糖或者其它含糖高的食物时，比如薯条或者薄脆饼干，有30至60分钟牙齿里细菌吸收糖分，并生成酸性物质。这些酸性物质会腐蚀你的牙齿。所以如果你一天吃几次糖果，那么牙齿就会接触到更多酸性物质，从而导致蛀牙。
It's also smart to eat candy around or just after mealtimes, because during meals you have anincreased flow of saliva that helps wash out your mouth and creates a kind of buffer betweenyour teeth and the bacterial acid.
饭前饭后吃糖果也是明智的选择，因为进餐时口内分泌的唾液增多，以帮助清洁口腔，同时也会在牙齿和细菌分泌的酸性物质之间生成一种酸碱缓冲液。
Your best bet, of course, is to lay off the candy. But of course that's easier said than done.
当然，最好的方法就是远离糖果。不过人总是说起来容易做起来难。
