Sugar is one of a dentist’s biggest enemies as it is used as the primary energy source by the bacteria in the mouth that cause cavities on your teeth. This has prompted the American Heart Association to warn everyone regarding sugar consumption over the last few years.

Sugar is naturally occurring in many foods but is added to many other foods during processing, preparation or at the table. Sugar doesn’t have any nutritional value aside from providing calories and it can displace more nutritious foods and beverages in a person’s diet. So how much is too much sugar? The AHA recommends that only about half of a person’s discretionary calorie intake should come from added sugars. For a person that is not exercising much this would be about 36 grams (9 tsps) for men, 20 grams (5 tsp) for women and an estimate of only about 12 grams (3 tsps) for children a day.

But remember! Most 12 oz soft drinks have at least 36 grams of sugar which is the entire suggested amount of sugar for a non-active grown man and more than the suggested amount for non-active women or children for a day.

As you can see, sugar does a lot more than just cause cavities.

The next time you visit us at Santa Fe Dental, your family dentist in Edmond, Oklahoma, and we tell you to to cut back on sugar just remember that it’s not just about your dental health, it’s also about making you healthier.