Beechwood Dental tips to reduce your sugar addiction

If we watch the TV and read the news we all have heard about the sugar-related dental problems that are becoming evident. However, much we try to avoid the issue the message is clear-we need to reduce the amount of sugar in our diets if we want to reduce the damage it causes our teeth.

Beechwood Dental in Bournemouth have put together some tips on how to reduce sugar intake in your diet and also reduce your waistline.

1. Check labels on all productsCheck labels for hidden sugars with unusual names such as sucrose, glucose, fructose, maltose, molasses, hydrolysed starch and corn syrup. Many products use a traffic light system and highlight the percentage of sugar on the front.
2. Watch what you eat for breakfastDid you know many cereals contain excessive levels of sugars? Look at the packaging and consider swapping to a lower sugar cereal or one with no sugar and certainly do not add extra on top! This will have a great impact on your dental health and health generally. However, having a healthy breakfast is possibly the most important meal of the day and will stop snacking mid-morning. 
3. Is it snack time, what shall I eat?If you have the urge to snack throughout the day, consider a handful of nuts or sugar free foods. When eating sugar, it’s not just the amount of sugar you have but how often you have. It takes an hour after eating sugar to return to its neutral state and every time we eat or drink this cycle returns again. Constant grazing can therefore lead to a toothless grin.
4. Fat free does not mean sugar free!Many ‘fat free- healthy options’ such as yoghurts contain high levels of fructose or refined sugars. Look out for the healthy traffic lights when you are shopping.
5. Changing our diets for life and how we eatSet yourself some new ground rules.

1. Don’t eat an hour before you go to bed
2. Don’t add sugar to foods
3. Don’t eat a dessert every meal

1. Get plenty of sleepPeople who stay up late are more likely to skip brushing at bedtime and snack later at night, this could spell disaster. Going to bed early can help solve all these problems.
2. Reduce alcohol intakeAlcohol accounts for 11% of the UK population’s daily intake of added sugar. Try to reduce the amount of alcoholic drink you have and remember to wash it down with water. This will wash away some of the sugar from your mouth and your head will thank you the next day.For more information contact Beechwood Dental or ring 01202 397074