Cycling and Fruit Pastilles - Serious question..

heartbreak_star

Dried mango, papaya, strawberries and cherries have a similar texture.

HBS x

Toothsmith

Cornucopia wrote: »

See if you can ween yourself onto something sugar free.

In those quantities, the laxative effect of the artificial sugars would seriously curtail the length of the cycle ride !

Toothsmith

heartbreak_star wrote: »

Dried mango, papaya, strawberries and cherries have a similar texture.

HBS x

I find dried mango excellent for an energy boost on a cycle ride or long hike.

brook2jack

However , as you know ts, once fruit is dried it has a similar decay potential to sweets particularly if used in grazing type eating.

heartbreak_star

It's better than sweets though maybe? Especially ones that are further coated in sugar?

HBS x

brook2jack

Absolutely not. It's not how much sugar you are eating at a time its how often you eat it. It takes an hour for the acid to go after you've had a sugar attack .

So a chocolate bar ,eaten all in one go, is better for your teeth than say raisins eaten a couple at a time over a long period .

Grazing on dried fruit will also cause lots of highs and lows in the blood sugar levels the same as grazing on sweets.

BlondeHeadOn

I suffer from migraines, and often during an attack the only thing that will stop me from vomiting (sorry, tmi) is to have a mint imperial sweet slowly dissolving in my mouth. I therefore somethimes spend a few hours with a constantly dissolving sweet, and this really worries me because of tooth damage.

Fortunately this is a few hours only, about once every couple of months.

I can't imagine having the same effect on a regular daily basis - I am far too much of a dentist-phobe for that!

:eek::eek::eek:

Toothsmith

Yes - mango is still bad, but things like that are a more sustained release of carbs than quick sugary energy drinks. Bananas are pretty good too (and no tooth problems associated), but a bit bulkier, and peeling one on the road is quite a trick!

Having dried fruit means less frequent intakes.

This is purely describing the needs of the body whilst undergoing endurance exercise - not a recommendation for day to day life.

Endurance athletes who over-use energy drinks and bars have awful teeth. It really needs thinking about and planning for minimal dental impact.

System

would something like sugar-free gum help? You'd still be chewing, and it might feel like you are eating something, but it won't be as fattening or bad for your teeth.

valk_scot

When I used to do long distance Audax cycling (100/200/400km distances) it was normal to stop several times for rapid intake of hot sweet tea, fruit scones with butter and jam, cakes, biscuits and vast pots of stovies. The odd banana was also consumed, though this was regarded as a bit too serious when it came to nutrition. On this healthy (!) and varied diet one could easily keep up the required ~15mph for many, many hours of cycling, both up and down hills and through the night. Two tubes of Fruit Pastilles would have been something you ate while waiting in the cake queue tbh.

I lost three stone in a year when I took up Audax riding btw. Though I was also doing 20 commuting miles a day, five days a week. Maybe you just have to do more cycling to burn off the calories from the FP?