Healthy Diet
Advice
Your Guide To Hidden Sugars In Food.
Sugars.
Sugar is found naturally in many foods,
such as milk and fruit, but it is the sugar
added to our food which does the real
damage to our teeth and the waistline!
What kind of sugar?
There are many types of sugars, they all
end in ‘ose’.
Glucose – found in carbohydrates
including sugar & starch.
Fructose – fruit sugar found in fruits,
vegetables & honey. Our liver changes it
into glucose.
Lactose – found in milk & milk products.
Galactose – pact of lactose.
Sucrose (table sugar) – comes from
sugar beet & cane, but can be found
naturally in all fruit & vegetables & even
most herbs & spices.
Maltose – found when starch is broken
down.
How do I know if it’s bad
for me?
Look at the Nutrition label on foods & it
will tell you how much energy, protein,
carbohydrate & fat is in the food. It can
also give information on sugars, saturates,
sodium, fibre, vitamins & minerals.
No added sugar usually means the
food has not had any sugar added to it.
However, it may still contain ingredients
such as fruit which has a naturally high
sugar content, or added milk, containing
lactose or an artificial sweetener.
Unsweetened means no sugar or
sweetener have been added, but not
necessarily that the food will not contain
naturally occurring sugars found in fruit
or milk.
What to look at on the food label
Look for the carbohydrates (of which
sugars) figure in the nutritional
information. 10g or more sugars per 100g
is a lot of sugar.
2g sugars per 100g or less is a little sugar.
2-10g is a moderate amount of sugar.
But these figures can’t tell you how much
sugar comes from milk, fruit or how much
is added.
Everything else you need
to look for.
To find out if the food is high in added
sugars, look at the ingredients list. Added
sugars must be included in the list which
starts with the biggest ingredient first.
Keeping teeth healthy.
• Cut down on added sugars by keeping
fizzy drinks, sweets etc to mealtimes
• Avoid sipping sugary drinks or eating
sweets too often because the longer
the sugar touches your teeth , the
more damage it can do.
It is the FREQUENCY of sugar rather
than the AMOUNT.
• Chew sugar free gum after meals &
snacks. (As long as you don’t wear a
brace!)
• Clean your teeth twice daily with
fluoride toothpaste, don’t rinse after
brushing, just spit
• Visit your dentist regularly
Safe snacking.
Always try and eat at least 5 portions of
fresh fruit and vegetables every day.
Safe snacking options include:
Look out for words that describe added
sugar such as sucrose, glucose, fructose,
maltose, hydrolysed starch & invert sugar,
corn syrup and honey.
Vegetables
Some foods you may not expect to have
added sugar may contain lots such as
breakfast cereal & cereal bars. Others
might have a higher added sugar than
you’d expect such as tins of spaghetti or
baked beans.
Sugar free foods
Fruit
Cheese
Safe drinks include:
Milk (fresh not bought ready made milk
shakes)
Water (check flavoured waters for sugar
content!)
Diluted sugar free juice
Can you think of any more?
To contact us
Ashton Dental Practice, 19 Wigan Road, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan WN4 9AR. Tel: 01942 271827
Lonsdale Dental Pratice, Tram Lane, Kirkby Lonsdale,, Carnforth, LA6 2BQ. Tel: 01524 273 020
Emergency out of hours no: 07982 435 244
www.wecareforyoursmile.com