DEAR DR. DONOHUE: You recently wrote about burning tongue syndrome. You touched lightly on the condition of dry mouth. We wonder if you’d cover it more extensively in a future column. — S.D.

ANSWER: Many more than a handful of conditions dry the mouth. Anything that decreases saliva production turns the mouth into a desert. Stones in the saliva ducts and salivary gland tumors interfere with saliva production. Medicines such as antidepressants, blood pressure controllers, antihistamines and diuretics (water pills) slow saliva output. Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and diabetes sometimes feature a dry mouth. Your dentist and family doctor have to work in concert to track down one of the mouth-drying conditions.

If no cause can be found, then you have to get in the habit of carrying a plastic squeeze bottle with you at all times and using it frequently. Your home should have humidity between 40 percent and 60 percent. Chewing sugar-free gum stimulates the flow of saliva. Don’t use mouthwash containing alcohol; it dries the mouth. Artificial salivas abound on the shelves of drugstores. Biotene has many products obtainable without a prescription. OraMoist is a disk that clings to the roof of the mouth and releases moisture slowly. Prescription medicines that ratchet up saliva synthesis are Evoxac, Salagen and pilocarpine.

I want to say something about Sjogren’s syndrome. It’s an autoimmune disease, one of the many illnesses where the immune system attacks its own organs and tissues. Here the targets of attack are salivary and tear glands. It brings on dry eyes, dry mouth or both. Fatigue is often part of the picture. Ask your doctor if testing for it is justified in your case.

The Sjogren’s Syndrome Foundation provides valuable information on this condition and its treatment. It has information on dealing with dry mouth, too. You can reach the foundation at its toll-free number, 800-475-6473, and on the Internet at www.sjogrens.org.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: There’s a question I have never seen asked in your column, and I would like an answer to it: How many grams of sugar is a person allowed to take in one day? — C.S.

ANSWER: The average person takes in 22 to 30 teaspoons of added sugar every day. Added sugar is sugar put into food by manufacturers or the cook, not the sugar that’s naturally in foods. That amount of sugar has 350 to 475 calories. Those calories do not bring any other nutrients into the body.

One teaspoon of sugar is 16 calories, or 4 grams.

The recommended daily intake of added sugar (table sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, fructose, sucrose and corn syrup) is 100 calories (6 teaspoons, 24 grams) for women and 150 calories (9 teaspoons, 36 grams) for men. Most of us exceed these recommendations many times over. We’re born with a taste for sweet things.

One 12-ounce can of pop has about 10 teaspoons of sugar, an amount over the recommended total daily intake.

If you want to do the arithmetic for yourself and get slightly different numbers, don’t sweat it. We’re not launching a rocket.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I suffered from an anxiety attack last December. I sought professional attention. The doctor put me on sertraline (Zoloft). I have never felt better. The problem is that I gained about 20 pounds. I have read that this is a side effect. My internist also says it’s a side effect, but the psychiatrist says it’s rare. What causes the weight gain? Is the only way to shed pounds to go off the medicine? — D.

ANSWER: This drug is both an anti-anxiety medicine and an antidepressant. The weight gain, which happens to some, may result from a remission of anxiety and depression, both of which suppress appetite. Another suggestion is that the drug somehow changes body metabolism. A third theory is “we don’t know why.”

You can still lose weight on the medicine by reducing calories and increasing exercise.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com.

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