When your diet consists of a lot of sugars and simple carbohydrates, you are a prime candidate for dental decay. Why? Because, bacteria in your mouth feed upon these and grow aggressively the more sugar you eat. So, making the choice now to cut back on your intake of sugar halts the progression of cavities.
In November of 2015, the Food and Drug Administration released a statement that strongly advised that Americans limit their sugar to 50 grams or 12.5 teaspoons per day and that it make up no more than 10 percent of your daily calories overall. To put this amount into perspective, that is the same quantity of sugar contained in a solitary can of cola.
Many foods and drink add sugars, and that is why you should become aware of what you are putting in your mouth by reading labels at the grocery store. They will list the ingredient contents by weight with the heaviest at the top. This means, that if a type of sugar is in the first few ingredients, you should find a healthier replacement. For your benefit, we have listed many of the typical sugar additives below.
-honey
-fruit juice concentrate
-glucose
-turbinado sugar
-brown sugar
-syrup
-cane sugar
-sucrose
-fructose
-honey
-fruit juice concentrate
-glucose
-confectioners’ or powdered sugar
-raw sugar
-corn sweeteners
-molasses
-corn syrup
-maple syrup
-crystallized cane sugar
-malt syrup
-dextrose
-maltose
-dextrin
-invert sugar
-evaporated cane juice
-high fructose corn syrup
If you’d like more information about how sugar affects your oral health, call Dr. Ronald Cass and our team at NW Hills Dental and Orthodontics. Make an appointment at: 512-345-2655, or come by our office in Austin, Texas.