A homage to the gummi bear, and its bright future

Remember the days when Mrs. Crabapple would send you to the corner for chewing gum in class? If only you knew to chew sugarless gum containing xylitol, a cavity-fighting sweetener, then you could tell her she can't possibly punish you for wanting to maintain good dental hygiene. Beat that, Crabapple.

Unfortunately, your dentist knows better. Instead, gummi bears (created by the Haribo company in 1920s era Germany) are the candy which scientists are choosing to investigate and promote, because health professionals don't want to encourage anyone to chew gum in class, heaven forbid.

Plus, there's the obvious aspects of enjoying fruity bears over a stick of gum. And what's better than reducing a large, wild mammal into a squishy little bag of brightly colored treats, which also prevents cavaties?

The Harvard School of Dental Medicine has conducted research studies into the use of xylitol as a plaque reducer, dental sealant and cavity fighter. The University of Washington has gone further by confining those benefits to gummi bears.

"Xylitol works like brushing your teeth. It reduces the amount of bacteria that causes tooth decay by making the bacteria less likely to stick to your teeth," a KOMO-TV reporter explained. "Right now, you can't buy gummi bears with xylitol. The only place you can find them is in the lab at the University of Washington."

The article also reports that the Japanese have already made the switch to chewing gums containing xylitol. Oh, whatchyagonnado America?

It seems the gum market will be stuck on teeth-whitening, reducing-nicotine-cravings, big-pink-bubble-popping, and other oddities for the time being until we realize preventative care should probably be of higher concern (for those of us not addicted to smoking).

Back in fall 2005, the UW's study on gummy bears with xylitol expected results that spring. So should we expect a surge of healthy gummy bears on store-shelves any day now?

We can find them organic or filled with nutrients to get kids to take their vitamins (Gummy Vites!). But I'd like to know what's holding us back from enacting the steps Japan has taken to market the xylitol gummy bear to adults, and release them from their lab-cage in the US.

Is a gummy bear which pleases everyone, dentists and public alike, just too good to be true?

Well, if an entire television based on the adventures of Gummi Bear was created, then I certainly disagree.

Viva la gummi!