Oh hey sweetie

Everything you eat and drink can have a major effect on the health of your teeth and gums.

Tooth decay is a diet-related disease that commonly develops in response to our consumption of sugar. Sugar from the foods and drinks we consume is taken up by decaycausing bacteria that live on the surfaces of our teeth. These bacteria process the sugar, turning it into acid which is then excreted on the surface of our teeth where it draws out minerals from the tooth. If this process happens over and over, without any effort to prevent or stop the disease process, it can eventually result in the formation of tooth decay.

Find below pro tips for reducing your sugar consumption.

Drink lots of water

Water is the best choice for your teeth. It is good for you, it is sugar free and in most areas in Australian it contains fluoride. Drinking fluoridated tap water is one of the most costeffective ways to try to prevent tooth decay. Sugar-sweetened beverages such as soft drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and even fruit juices are packed with sugar. These drinks provide no nutritional content and increase your risk of developing tooth decay as well as a range of other health conditions like Type 2 diabetes. Even the sugar-free varieties can cause damage to your teeth as these drinks have a low pH, making them acidic, which can cause the tooth’s surface to soften and become worn.

How much is too much?

Do you know that one 600ml bottle of soft drink, on average, contains 16 teaspoons of sugar? This is over twice the recommended daily sugar intake for adults. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adult sugar intake be equal to 5% of your daily total energy intake (kJ) to decrease your risk of developing tooth decay as well as other health benefits. For the average adult, this equates to 6 teaspoons (equal to 24 grams) of free sugar per day. You will see the term free sugar used above. Here are various descriptors used for sugar: Added sugar – sugar added to food and drink products during processing, manufacturing or at the time of consumption, such as adding sugar to your tea or coffee or sprinkling it over your morning breakfast cereal. Free sugar – this includes added sugars, as well as the sugar naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juice and fruit juice concentrate. Natural sugar – sugar that is part of the natural structure of food products, including vegetables, fruits (fructose) and dairy (lactose). To know how much sugar is in the foods and drinks you purchase, it is best to read the Nutrition Information Panel located on the food label to make a healthy choice.

Reading the label

When deciding between products based on their sugar content, look at the amount of sugar per 100 grams. This will allow you to compare ‘apples with apples.’ If you use the sugar per serve value, you may be comparing ‘apples with oranges’ instead. It is best to look for foods with 5g or less sugar per 100g. Between 5g and 10g is okay also. If a product has over 15g of sugar per 100g, it may be best to find a healthier alternative.

Not all products will advise the amount of added sugars present as a value on the label. To check for added sugars, it is best to read the list of ingredients, which are usually found at the base of the label. The higher an ingredient is to the top of the list, the more of it is present within the item.

For more information visit the Australian Dental Association. www.ada.org.au

If you’re trying to avoid sugar but you’ve still got an appetite for something sweet, read on! Local Aussie entrepreneur Daniel Kitay has turned your favourite sugar fix into a health kick and it all started with a transformation story. Daniel trained as a lawyer before moving into the vitamin and supplement sector, driven by an unhealthy relationship with food as a child and a desire to bring healthier options to the masses. Now, he’s the creator of Australia’s first “truly healthy lolly.” Like many entrepreneurs, Funday™ Natural Sweets was born as the result of a problem: Daniel cut almost all added sugar from his diet to lose weight. It worked — he got fitter. But he wanted to bring back the funfactor with sweets.

“I didn’t want to eliminate sweets forever. I’ve always been torn between eating sugary confectionery or sugar-free lollies, which are full of nasty sugar alcohols which always give me an upset stomach.”

When Daniel hit Google he discovered he wasn’t the only person that sugar-free sweets didn’t agree with. The primary culprits are sugar alcohols, which can cause a laxative effect for some people if digested in large quantities (remember that warning on the side of your chewing gum?) and are a common component of sugar-free products. Our appetite for sweet treats are changing. In America, the ‘better for you’ confectionery trend has been around for some time, and according to industry reports has only become more popular in COVID-19. Today’s customers want sweets that make them feel more virtuous for eating them. So Daniel got busy creating in his kitchen, after enlisting the help of some of Australia’s top food scientists, nutritionists and chefs. And the result; delicious lollies with no sugar and no sugar-alcohol, plus seven grams of plant-based fibre per bag. This type of fibre is a prebiotic which means it can also do great things for your gut health. These beauties are perfect for your next birthday party goody bags or just a sweet treat for mama!

Funday Natural Sweets has just launched in Australia and is an innovative new lolly that is a deliciously natural with up to 90% less sugar than other leading lolly brands. www.fundaysweets.com