In general, most people eat far too much sugar throughout the year. This can be extremely detrimental to the health of the individual. Many people are unaware regarding the sheer amount of sugar that they consume. It is crucial to cut down on your sugar consumption in order to improve your general health, as well as protect the health of your teeth.
Issues Associated with Excessive Sugar Consumption
Many common issues arise in conjunction with excessive sugar consumption. Heart disease, diabetes, weight gain, and more often occur when an individual regularly consumes substantial amounts of sugar. Tooth decay is another frequent occurrence with extreme sugar consumption. Not only does this lead to cavities, but it can even cause teeth to become lost or extracted, as well as an array of other issues.
Read the Labels
Added sugar is far more common than you may realize. Many processed foods contain extremely high levels of sugar. This is even true of foods like salad dressing or BBQ sauce. It is important that you read the labels carefully to identify added sugars. You should switch to foods with minimal amounts of added sugars. Try to minimize your overall consumption of processed foods as much as possible. Switch to unsweetened foods as much as possible. You should always be particularly cautious when a food is labeled as a “low-fat” or “fat-free” alternative. These foods often contain higher amounts of sugar than full-fat foods.
Take it in Steps
Completely quitting your sugar consumption can be incredibly difficult. For some people, it is the best approach to take, but this usually isn’t the case. Quitting sugar cold turkey tends to be a far less successful approach. Cutting back your sugar consumption slowly can help to make a far more gradual, and often more permanent, change to your lifestyle. Start by reducing the amount of sugar in your coffee until you eventually drink your coffee black. Eat half a piece of cake rather than a full one. Slowly limiting your sugar consumption tends to be beneficial over the long term.
Drink More Water
Drinking more water can substantially help to reduce your sugar consumption. Many people consume an incredible amount of sugar along with their regular beverage consumption. This amount of sugar adds up to an extreme total. Sugar is present in many common drinks, including soda, juice, and even milk. Replacing these drinks with water can help to remove a large amount of sugar from your diet. In addition, drinking more water will simply allow you to stay more hydrated, which is exceptionally beneficial to your health. Water is capable of providing many health benefits to the teeth. Swishing water around in your mouth can help to remove harmful food particles and bacteria from the surface of your teeth.
Stick with It
Sticking to the plan of reducing your sugar intake can be difficult, especially at the beginning. However, it is critical that you stick to your plan. Your taste buds will adjust over time. In fact, it is likely that you will find that the foods you used to enjoy taste too sweet, which will make it easier to reduce your sugar intake.
Get your Sweet Fix with Natural Foods
Added sugars are miles away from natural sugars. Replacing processed sugars with natural sugars can significantly help to manage your cravings and improve your health. Many of these options include things like fruit, honey, vegetables, cinnamon, and more!
Keep Sweets in Less Convenient Locations
If sweets are easily accessible, you will be more likely to mindlessly consume it. Move candy bowls or dishes from easy to access locations. Even just moving it across the room will make it less likely that you will reach for the candy bowl.
Start Chewing Gum
If you start chewing gum on a regular basis, you may be able to more effectively handle your cravings for sugar. Take care to choose a gum that doesn’t contain sugar. Sugar-free gum can actually be extremely good for the health of your teeth. It helps to ensure that your mouth produces more saliva, which helps to flush out potentially harmful particles from the surface of the mouth.
Add More Protein and Fats
Consider adding more proteins and fats to your diet. Carbs often contain excessive amounts of sugar. Protein helps to keep you full, as well as reduce your appetite. Fats can also be used to keep you full for longer, as well as provide additional energy.
Remove Sugar from your House
Though this isn’t always a viable option, especially in shared households, reducing the amount of sugar in your house can help to reduce your sugar consumption. Refrain from keeping sugar in the house as much as possible. In addition, you shouldn’t shop when you’re hungry, as you will be more likely to choose unhealthy, high-calorie options.
Get Enough Sleep
Many people implement sugar in order to provide an energy boost. This is more common when they haven’t gotten enough sleep and feel that the energy boost is necessary. The likelihood of this can be minimized by getting enough sleep.
Replace Sugar while Baking
Reducing the amount of sugar a specific recipe calls for can go a long way toward reducing the amount of sugar that you can consume regularly. You can often reduce the sugar amount by 1/3 to 1/2 without relatively noticeable changes to the taste of the finished product. Another alternative to healthier baked goods is to switch out the sugar completely with unsweetened applesauce. This should be done on a 1:1 basis where you replace a cup of sugar with a cup of unsweetened applesauce.
In a perfect world, you wouldn’t consume added sugars at all. Cutting down on your sugar consumption is incredibly important for your health. This goes a long way toward preventing tooth decay and ensuring a healthy smile. Contact our experts at Bismarck Advanced Dental Implants to help deal with the negative impact that sugar has on the health of your teeth.
