It’s hopeless! You’ve been cursed with…a sweet tooth.
It can feel like an addiction. If you don’t have your treat for the day, you almost get withdrawal symptoms!
Cutting back on sugar is not just great for weight loss, it’s a huge relief on your teeth. Perhaps you’ve tried reducing sugar intake before but found yourself relapsing into old habits.
The following tips will help you satisfy the cravings in a way that your overall and oral health will thank you.
Fruits
Fruits have natural sugar that’s healthier for you than the processed sugars in candy. They also contain vitamins that can support the health of your gums and teeth.
But it’s not easy to swap over. Here’s our advice:
Step 1: Find your favorite fruits.
It may be hard but keep an open mind. Bananas, kiwis, apples, pineapples, mangoes…the list is endless!
Step 2: Meal plan
Prep your fruit before your craving kicks in, so when it arrives you can easily choose your fruit over the candy.
Step 3: Do it for 21 days
That’s how long it takes to form a habit. This way, your brain is learning to turn to fruit when craving something sweet.
Have Darker chocolate
If you’re a milk chocolate lover, we know how hard it is to have dark chocolate. There’s more cocoa, making it bitter.
We suggest you start with 50% dark chocolate and slowly up the percentage every few months to get used to it.
Try different brands and watch out for any added sugar!
Yogurt
Instead of adding your delicious toppings to ice cream, do it to plain Greek yogurt. It’s high in calcium which strengthens your enamel. Here’s how you make your yogurt tasty:
- Sweetness: Add in honey or fresh maple syrup.
- Chocolate replacement: Include your favorite fresh or frozen fruits.
- Crunchy: Use nuts, seeds, or granola.
- Flavorings: Just so you don’t get bored of the flavors you can sometimes add cinnamon, cocoa powder, or peanut butter.
Smoothies
Choose a fruit-filled smoothie instead of a soda. Take the Greek yogurt from before with all the fun toppings, add a vegetable or 2, and blitz it.
Low-sugar alternatives
Healthier versions of your candy exist! Find the low-sugar alternatives (and make sure there aren’t any other unhealthy sweeteners used) and give them the ol’ college try!
It may be called having a sweet tooth, but when you succumb to the cravings, it’s your teeth that pay the price. Give your pearly whites a break from cavities with the healthy tips above.
Need to tend to those cavities? Book an appointment and we’ll be happy to help.
