Summer Hydration

May is such an exciting month with school being almost out and summer starting! If it wasn’t for the crazy heat… we would be in heaven! But we do live in Houston so we need to think about how to keep our kids both active and healthy all summer long. HYDRATION IN THE KEY!!! Keeping the kids hydrated during football, soccer, and other summery outdoor activities is important.  As you probably can guess, we dentists are not fans of Gatorades or other sports drinks.  They have around 10 teaspoons of sugar and acidity close to battery acid.  Those two factors together are a perfect recipe for dental cavities.  Acid penetrates the enamel and makes the environment of the mouth friendly for cavity making bacteria.  Sugar is the fuel for the bacteria to make acid that dissolves enamel of the teeth causing cavities.  And that’s just the teeth! There is also a close relationship of these drinks to childhood obesity, sugar highs and crashes causing mood swings and behavior issues, as well as over-activity of the other systems of the body.   So, what is good for little teeth and your bodies?  WATER is!  Flavored waters are fine as long as they have no sugar added.  Leave the Gatorade and its electrolytes only for those activities that truly need the replacement such as any difficult aerobic activity that takes longer than 90 minutes.  If you kids are running marathons, then Gatorade is needed during the run!  But if they are playing a 60-minute game of soccer, water will be plenty sufficient to rehydrate them in a healthy manner! Electrolytes can be gained in other non sugary ways with sugar free powders that can be dissolved in water. Watery fruits such as watermelons can also be helpful. But mostly carry a water around anytime you are outside and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!