Some of our team members have decided to try and give up chocolate, their favourite sweet treat, for a whole six weeks. The media has been full of stories recently about the negative effects of sugar on dental and general health and they thought this would be a great way to raise awareness of this. Part of our job here at Shine Dental Care is to educate people about the effects of too much dietary sugar and what better way to educate than leading by example.
Our gang of self-confessed chocoholics will be giving up all things chocolatey until Easter and will report back on how they found the challenge.
In the meantime, if you would like to try and cut back on sugar too here are Shines Top Tips to help you:
- Start the day as you mean to go on. Swap sugary breakfast cereals for plain porridge or plain shredded wheat. Add some fresh fruit if you fancy something sweet. Toast or bagels are also a low sugar breakfast option, especially if you choose whole-wheat.
- Sugary drinks should not be a regular feature in our diets as they have little nutritional value. Swap ‘full-fat’ fizzy drinks for water, milk, sugar-free or no added sugar drinks. Fruit juices are part of our 5-a-day but they still contain a lot of sugar. Try and limit these drinks to around 150ml a day.
- Tasty sugar free snacks can include rice cakes, toast, crackers or crunchy vegetables dipped in humus.
- If you just can’t resist a sugary snack try to reduce your portion sizes. Try a fun size chocolate bar instead of a full sized one and try and make them occasional treats rather than everyday snacks.
- Maybe the simplest tip of all… Don’t go shopping when you are hungry and you will be less likely to be tempted by naughty treats. If you don’t buy it, you can’t eat it!
If you think the sugar in your diet may be having an effect on your dental health our dentists will be more than happy to help. Phone us today 01623 629391 to book your consultation.