Eat Your Gummi Bears!

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Someday the advice from your dentist could be "eat more Gummi Bears!" Researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle are testing if eating the chewy candy sweetened with xylitol is as good for your teeth as gum containing xylitol.

Xylitol is a sugar substitute, which is lower in calories and has been shown to have cavity-fighting properties.

Researchers say they want kids to get more xylitol, so they will have healthier teeth. Right now, the additive is available in gum. However, dentists don't want to encourage kids to chew gum in school. A daily snack of the fruity and gummy treat could be just the answer.

The research team at the Northwest/Alaska Center to Reduce Oral Health Disparities is also working with food manufacturers to add xylitol to cookies, pudding and other desserts. These foods could be served to kids in school lunches. The xylitol candies are not yet available on the market.

The University of Washington study will be completed next spring.

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SOURCE: University of Washington Health Services and UW Medicine, published online Sept., 2005