Is it healthy for your kids? Read more about sugar intake in foods and drinks.

Is it healthy for your kids? Read more about sugar intake in foods and drinks.

19 / 08 / 2015

We saw it in the news, magazines and television, did you?

Work with us to prevent tooth decay…

‘Jamie Oliver’s campaign to battle sugary products’

Check out the links to the articles and read our blog for more advice.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/sunday/588846/Jamie-Oliver-campaign-battles-sugary-products

http://www.channel4.com/info/press/news/jamie-oliver-inspires-healthier-eating-with-two-new-channel-4-shows

Statistics from the BDJ (British Dental Journal)

On what seems like a frequent basis, new statistics are being presented highlighting how poor children’s dental health is.

The number of children admitted to hospital for dental treatment in 2013-14 was around 26,000. On a whole oral health is improving, with fewer children experiencing dental decay according to the 2013 Children’s Dental Health Survey, than just ten years ago.

Nearly a quarter of our added sugar in our diets comes from sugary drinks such as fizzy drinks, sweetened juices, and squashes.

Here we list a few of children’s favourites, taking a closer look at the ingredients and the sugar intake.

Coca-Cola contains 10.6g of sugar per 100ml – that’s 35g in a 330ml can (that’s 7 teaspoons of sugar) and 26.5g in a 250ml can (that’s 5 ½ teaspoons of sugar).

– Try sugar-free varieties.

– Limit amounts drink

– Drinking through a straw

If you take sugar in tea or coffee

– Slowly try and reduce the amount until you can cut it out altogether or try swapping to sweeteners instead.

Natural sugars in fruit juices.

Like fizzy drinks, fruit juice can be high in sugar. When juice is extracted from the whole fruit to make juice, sugar is released and this can cause damage to our teeth.

Drinking fruit juice doesn’t fill you up as much as eating fruit. It takes about two-and-a-half oranges to make a glass of juice.

However, fruit juices do contain vitamins and minerals, and a 150ml glass of unsweetened 100% fruit or vegetable juice counts as one of your 5 a day.

Watch out for the sugar content in flavoured water drinks. A 500ml glass of some brands contains 15g of sugar, the equivalent to 4 ½ teaspoons of sugar.

Robinsons Fruit Shoot orange juice drink, with each 200ml bottle containing 23g of sugar – the equivalent of almost 5 teaspoonful’s

Munch Bunch Double Up fromage frais contains more than 2 teaspoons (12.4g) of sugar, but only 2.25g of fruit puree.

It’s shocking seeing the above and the amounts of sugar we actually allow our children to have.

We advise to limit what your child eats/drinks, combined with good oral health in order to keep your child healthy and prevent them from dental decay.

There is a previous blog post about “hidden sugars” you can read this here –

http://www.crooklogdentalpractice.co.uk/action-sugar/

Below is a link from the NHS on how to look after your kids teeth –

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/dentalhealth/Pages/Goodhabitskids.aspx

If you have any concerns about your child’s teeth please contact us at Crook Log Dental Practice for more information.