We guide our dental patients at Center for Dental Anesthesia to watch their sugar intake to prevent cavities and other health issues.
If you are trying to de-sugar your diet, you are probably skipping the usual suspects: candy, soda, and baked treats. But not all sugar is as evident as the frosting on a piece of chocolate cake or the powdery stuff in pixie stix.
Here are some foods found in grocery stores and school cafeterias with surprisingly high sugar content:
- Ketchup
- Low fat versions of snack foods (Manufacturers often replace fat with sugar.)
- Salad dressing
- Breads, buns, rolls
- Spaghetti sauce
- Protein bars
- Granola
- Canned soup
- Peanut butter
- Yogurt
- Fast food meals (Hamburgers, fries, sandwiches, and salads are often loaded with sugar, not to mention the dessert items.)
- Antacids
- Cough drops
- Fruit smoothies (Even a small serving has a whopping amount of sugar.)
Reading the fine print on labels is a must. The following terms are all types of sugar:
raw sugar, cane sugar, glucose, lactose, galactose, fructose, dextrose, honey, sorghum, molasses, cane sugar, confectioner’s sugar, crystallized cane juice, invert sugar, maltodextrin (or dextrin), maple syrup, concentrated fruit juices, evaporated cane juice (what kind of cane do you think they are talking about?)
Do the math: when shopping at markets or health food stores, carefully evaluate food labels before you buy. Four grams of sugar equals one teaspoon. Add up all the grams of every type of sugar listed and divide by four to truly comprehend how much sugar an item contains.
At Center for Dental Anesthesia, we advocate and practice preventative care for lifelong dental health. For more specifics on how your diet influences your dental health, contact us at 703-379-6400. If you have a toddler or child who has not yet visited a dentist, call us today for a pediatric oral examination and information on fluoride and sealants.
We are located at 5284 Dawes Ave in Alexandria.
Contact Center for Dental Anesthesia:
703-379-6400
Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):
5284 Dawes Ave
Alexandria, Virginia
22311
