Roast veggies "as bad for teeth as fizzy drinks"

[HappyLC]

Roast veggies 'as bad for teeth as fizzy drinks'
08:21am 4th May 2006


You may think roasted vegetables are a healthy side-dish but they are actually as acidic as fizzy drinks, scientists have revealed.

They found this method of cooking made aubergines, green peppers and courgettes more acidic. The acid can cause dental erosion when it comes in contact with teeth.

The researchers from the University of Dundee also found oven-roasting the vegetarian dish ratatouille significantly increased its acidity when compared to stewing.

Lead researcher Dr Chadwick said: "The acidity of ratatouille prepared by oven-roasting is the same as that of some carbonated drinks that, when consumed in excess, are believed to contribute to the development of dental erosion."

However, they found the cooking method had no impact on the acidity of tomatoes or onions.

The Dundee team's research was based on reports that people on a vegetarian diet may be more at risk from dental erosion because such a large quantity of the foods they eat, such as fruits and vegetables, tend to be quite acidic in nature.

The research is published in the current edition of the European Journal of Prosthodontics and Restorative Dentistry.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/dietfitness.html?in_article_id=385065&in_page_id=1798&ct=5

[catfishghj]

What are aubergines and courgettes? And what is ratatouille?

[Sunday]

Aubergine = eggplant. Courgette = zucchini or yellow squash. Ratatouille = a really delicious side dish with eggplant, zucchini, red & green bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, and usually pignoli (pinon nuts).

Which reminds me, I haven't made that in ages. I need to find my recipe.

And I promise to brush my teeth after I eat.

[nicnoc]

Found a recipe

Ratatouille


Ingredients:
1 pound ground sirloin, round or chuck
3 meduim zucchini, washed, trimmed and sliced into thin rounds
1 small eggplant, peeled and diced and salted
1 onion, diced
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 green peppers
1 clove garlic, crushed or minced
1 teaspoon fresh or 1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup or 1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup sliced canned/jarred mushrooms
salt and peper to taste

Brown beef in a skillet using minimum oil if necessary. Remove from skillet and set aside. Peel and dice eggplant; salt and put aside. Chop onions and garlic; slice zucchini and peppers. Salt and pepper the entire mixture. Pour 3 Tbsp olive oil into skillet and when hot, add all the the veggies except the mushrooms. Mix to stir until onion begins to caramelize, about 10–15 minutes. Add mushrooms, sauté for another 5 minutes. Add browned beef, canned tomatoes and herbs and simmer an additional 10 minutes. Before you are ready to serve, top with cheeses.

Serves 6. 6 net grams of carbohydrate per serving.

[catfishghj]

sounds wonderful, thanks for the recipe

[ItsTheWooo]

good thing its primarily the sugar, not the acid, that makes food bad for your teeth.

[Zuleikaa]

Found a recipe

Ratatouille


Ingredients:
1 pound ground sirloin, round or chuck
3 meduim zucchini, washed, trimmed and sliced into thin rounds
1 small eggplant, peeled and diced and salted
1 onion, diced
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 green peppers
1 clove garlic, crushed or minced
1 teaspoon fresh or 1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup or 1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup sliced canned/jarred mushrooms
salt and peper to taste

Brown beef in a skillet using minimum oil if necessary. Remove from skillet and set aside. Peel and dice eggplant; salt and put aside. Chop onions and garlic; slice zucchini and peppers. Salt and pepper the entire mixture. Pour 3 Tbsp olive oil into skillet and when hot, add all the the veggies except the mushrooms. Mix to stir until onion begins to caramelize, about 10–15 minutes. Add mushrooms, sauté for another 5 minutes. Add browned beef, canned tomatoes and herbs and simmer an additional 10 minutes. Before you are ready to serve, top with cheeses.

Serves 6. 6 net grams of carbohydrate per serving.I use fresh mushrooms and more garlic.

And no meat.

[foxgluvs]

This article was in the Daily Mail today....what a load of rollox. I thought to myself as I was chowing down on a perfectly healthy plate of veggies, what a crock of poopy. What are they trying to say then.....shall we all just drink fizzy drink in preferance to veggies then? Even if you roast them, the fact is you don't eat them every day; they are HUGELY more healthy than 16 tea spoons of sugar in a fizzy drink, AND are they telling us not to eat veggies because of the natural acid in them? Please, these people who write this crud need to be shot.

Whatever will they come up with next?

[HappyLC]

The Dundee team's research was based on reports that people on a vegetarian diet may be more at risk from dental erosion because such a large quantity of the foods they eat, such as fruits and vegetables, tend to be quite acidic in nature.

I didn't have time to comment when I posted this earlier. I wanted to say that I ate ratatouille a LOT waaaay back when I was a vegan. There's so much chopping involved that it made sense to make a really BIG batch once a week and then just scoop out a portion for "dinner in a hurry". My fingers used to be pruney after all that vegetable chopping, lol. My teeth didn't really seem to suffer, though, probably because I was not eating cakes and cookies and drinking soda anymore.

I haven't had it in years. Probably got sick of it. :lol:

Oh, and I read somewhere that "fruitarians" (if there are any, which I kind of doubt) have terrible teeth, from all the sugar and acid.

[Nancy LC]

My thought is that I think that is hooey. What about using or drinking lemon juice or any citrus? Color me skeptical.

[Sherrielee]

I'm not buying it wither!

[Lisa N]

good thing its primarily the sugar, not the acid, that makes food bad for your teeth.

It's not the sugar that does the damage directly. Sugar feeds the bacteria that live in the mouth and they produce acids as a byproduct of eating the sugar which erodes the enamel on teeth.
Drinking or eating foods that are highly acidic frequently leads to enamal erosion as much as sugar which is why steadily sipping on diet pop all day can actually contribute to cavity formation even though there is no sugar in the solution. :p
Still...I'm not buying what the author above is selling either.

[Turtle2003]

I make Ratatouille all the time and I never even thought of making it with meat cooked in it. For my family it's always been a vegetable dish which can be served with whatever meat we're having that meal. My recipe is a bit different too. The one given here sounds delish. I'll have to try it. :yum:

[southbel]

I eat roasted veggies like it's going out of style. Always have. Also drink diet soda like it's going out of style too. Perfect teeth. Never a cavity, hardly any plaque ever and very healthy gums. Guess I just have super teeth...LOL!