Tame your sweet tooth
Why limit the amount of sugars you eat?
There are three reasons:
- First, sugary drinks and snacks between meals make cavities more likely. (Brushing your teeth after snacking helps prevent cavities.)
- Second, sugar adds calories to food but doesn’t add anything else your body needs. Sugary foods might fill you up so you eat less of the foods that help keep you healthy.
- Third, the extra calories from sugary foods and drinks could make you gain weight.
Don’t drink your calories!
When you think about sugary foods, you might think of candy, cakes, cookies, or ice cream. Another major source of sugar for most people is their drinks.
Did you know that . . .
- a 12-ounce cola has over nine teaspoons of sugar in it?
- all of the 150 calories in a 12-ounce cola come from sugar?
- high-fructose corn syrup is another form of added sugar?
- fruit "drinks" have sugar added to them?
You can choose wisely by
- Drinking non-diet soft drinks less often
- Drinking water, milk, or 100 percent fruit juice instead of pop, fruit drinks or sports drinks.
- Eating smaller servings of candy, cookies or other sweets and having them less often.
- Eating fruit for dessert instead of sugary foods. Fruit is naturally sweet and healthy for you.
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