Who is the culprit of tooth decay? Does starch in food cause tooth decay?

Starch is a natural polymer compound, which mainly exists in the seeds or roots of plants. Starch-rich foods often seen in daily life include rice, wheat, and potatoes. Here are three things you need to know about starch in food.

How is starch converted into energy in the human body?

In the daily diet, the primary form of starch is solid food such as steamed bread and rice. By chewing in the mouth, the solid food is decomposed into small pieces, and then enters the stomach through the esophagus. At this time, the chemical form of starch began to change. Part of the starch was catalyzed by amylase in saliva and hydrolyzed to generate maltose. However, because the amylase in saliva was limited, some starch without hydrolysis reaction would travel from the stomach to the small intestine. Then, under the action of amylase secreted by the pancreas, the hydrolysis continues. Starch is hydrolyzed into maltose, which is the second "transformation" of starch.

During the digestion process, maltose will continue to be catalyzed by maltase secreted by intestinal juice and hydrolyzed into glucose that can be absorbed by the human body. Therefore, glucose is the final form of starch after entering the human body after digestion. A part of the glucose enters the cells and undergoes complex biochemical reactions to generate energy, which is directly supplied to various tissues of the human body; the other part of the glucose is used as the raw material for the synthesis of glycogen. Glycogen is mainly distributed in the liver and muscles of humans and animals. It is the energy storage material for humans and animals. When the glucose in the blood of humans and animals is lower than normal, it will be decomposed to produce glucose, which can be replenished in time.

What is the principle of resistant starch for weight loss?

Resistant starch is a starch component that cannot be digested and absorbed in the upper digestive tract (stomach and small intestine) of the human body. Although it is genuine starch in chemical structure, it cannot be broken down into glucose by the human body, and then absorbed into the blood as the human body's energy usage. Because resistant starch cannot be fully digested by the human body, the resulting food contains less calories than ordinary starch, which also achieves the purpose of losing weight.

Can starch in food cause tooth decay?

The final form of starch is glucose, and starch itself is also a sugar. After eating starch-rich foods such as rice and steamed bread, will we have tooth decay? According to research, during the process of chewing food, some food residues containing carbohydrates will remain on the surface or between the teeth, and carbohydrates mainly include starch. Under the action of oral bacteria, the acidic substances produced by the fermentation of starch will corrode human teeth with calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate as the main components. Under the long-term corrosion of acidic substances, the originally smooth tooth surface will appear pits due to decalcification. In more serious cases, it will be eroded by bacteria to form "wormholes" and become tooth decay. Therefore, after eating food, you must Remember to brush your teeth.

This article is scientifically checked by Huang Shaohua, a senior teacher in Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province.

This article comes from: Xinhuanet