Kids who thrive on
bubble guru may
well be keeping the
doctor away.
Research just
published by Matti
Uhari and his team
from the
University of Oulu
in Finland shows
that a sweetener
commonly used in
bubble gum, chewing
gwn and some foods may prevent ear infections.
The plant sugar
xylitol is known
to inhibit the
growth of bacteria.
In this study, 857
healthy children
were given 10 gram
doses of xylitol
in a sweet syrup,
chewing gum and
hard sweets while
the kids in the
control group
received xylitol-free sweets.
After three months,
as many as
41 per cent of the
children who
did not undergo the
bubble gum
therapy had car
infection as
compared to just 29
per cent in
xylitol group
(Pediatrics, Vol 102,No 4).
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