Bubble gum therapy

Kids who thrive on bubble guru maywell be keeping the doctor away.Research just published by MattiUhari and his team from theUniversity of Oulu in Finland showsthat a sweetener commonly used inbubble gum, chewing gwn and some foods may prevent ear infections.

The plant sugar xylitol is knownto inhibit the growth of bacteria. In this study, 857 healthy childrenwere given 10 gram doses of xylitolin a sweet syrup, chewing gum andhard sweets while the kids in thecontrol group received xylitol-free sweets.

After three months, as many as41 per cent of the children whodid not undergo the bubble gumtherapy had car infection ascompared to just 29 per cent inxylitol group (Pediatrics, Vol 102,No 4).