How to prevent problems in a sweet tooth?

How to prevent problems in a sweet tooth:

Nowadays sugar is in EVERYTHING.

Besides the well known high sugar items such as:

·      Biscuits

·      Chocolate

·      Cakes

·      Sweets

·      Fizzy drinks

·      Ice cream

·      Fruit juice

·      Fruit

There are a lot of hidden sugars in supermarket items such as:

·      Sauces- Pasta, condiments, curry…

·      Yoghurts

·      Bread

·      Squash concentrate

·      Ready meals

Trying to reduce your sugar intake can be very tricky, with the rise of hidden sugars you may think that your diet is low in sugar without realising where it is hidden.

Check all products you buy and opt for the lowest sugar item, and if you are going to have it…

The most important thing with sugar is to limit HOW OFTEN you have it.

Sugar frequency is more important than the amount of sugar you consume.

If you were to sit and eat one big chocolate cake for your dinner it would not be as bad for your teeth and picking at a pack of grape throughout the day.

Why is that?

Little bugs called bacteria are always in your mouth, some are good some are bad.

If you clean well it will reduce the number present but no matter how well you clean there will always be some bacteria present.

These bacteria consume the sugar inside your food, digest it and release acid.

This acid:

·      Is in your mouth for up to 1hour

·      It dissolves your teeth so that you loose minerals.

This will happen every time you eat anything containing sugar.

If you eat your breakfast, lunch and dinner = 2.5- 3 hours of acid in your mouth.

Your body can deal with this as after an hour you saliva gets rid of the acid.

Saliva contains minerals and once the acid is gone…

If you don’t have another sugary snack your mouth has time to replenish the minerals back into the tooth.

However…

If you were to have another sugary snack or drink anything with sugar in-between/after your meals this doubles à,5-6 hours of acid

Which does not give your teeth enough to regather the minerals lost.

If more mineral leaves every day your tooth will become soft = Decay à Hole.

Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral, which is now present in toothpastes and mouthwashes.

Fluoride is a mineral, which sticks to the crystals in your teeth, and makes them more resistant to acid attack.

I will do another blog post on Fluoride effects and benefits.               

So to wrap it all up here as some tips and tricks…

Easy rules to follow:

·      Make all drinks sugar free

·      Only have sugary drinks or snacks with meals  

(Including fruit and juices)

·      Make snacks sugar free or as low sugar as possible

 (See next blog post). 

·      Don’t brush your teeth for one hour after eating

(Brushing+acid= more mineral loss)

·      Use fluoride mouthwash or chew sugar free gum

To try and neutralise the acid and promote saliva flow after a sugary snack

·      Use fluoridated toothpaste

To try and replenish the lost mineral throughout the day, make teeth stronger to acid attack and kill the bacteria.

·      Spread the message to your friends and family.

The takeaway message….

Sugar frequency is more important than the amount of sugar you consume.

Stay tuned for my next blog post on:

How to live life with less sugar.