July 9th, 2009 by admin

RECOMMENDED AND CURRENT LEVELS OF
SUGAR INTAKE

The recommended intake of non-milk extrinsic sugars is a maximum of
60 g/day, which is about 10% of daily energy intake. However, the latest
National Diet and Nutrition Survey of young people aged 4–18 years showed
mean NMES intakes at 85 g/day in boys and 69 g/day in girls.
The main
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source of these sugars was soft drinks and confectionery. These tend to be
consumed between meals and contribute to obesity. Dietary advice from the
dentist is a part of an overall healthy diet promotion message
STARCH, FRUIT, AND FRUIT SUGARS
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Raw starch (e.g. raw vegetables) is of low cariogenicity. However, cooked
and highly refined starch (e.g. crisps) can cause decay, and combinations of
cooked starch and sucrose (e.g. cakes, biscuits, sugared breakfast cereals)
can be highly cariogenic.
Current dietary advice recommends at least five portions of fruit and
vegetables per day. Fruit contains sugars (fructose, sucrose, and glucose) but
fresh fruits appear to be of low cariogenicity. However, the same cannot be
said for fruit juice. The juicing process releases the sugars from the whole
fruit, and these drinks are potentially cariogenic. Dried fruit is also cario-
genic. These products are sticky, tending to adhere to teeth, and the drying
process releases some of the intrinsic sugar s.
CULTURAL AND SOCIAL PRESSURES
Vast capital sums are invested in the sugar industry and related industries
manufacturing soft drinks and confectionery. Large sums of money are also
spent advertising sugar products, and the public are constantly exhorted
to purchase sweet food products which they are told provide instant energy
Sweets are often placed next to check-outs in supermarkets and school
tuck shops, and chocolate-bearing grannies  ourish. In addition, many foods
which are not generally thought of as cariogenic contain significant
amounts of sucrose (sometimes called ‘hidden sugar’), for example, tomato
soup, mustard, tomato sauce, frozen pears, tinned pasta, breakfast cereals,
fruit yoghurts, many savoury baby foods, and rusks.