A sweet tooth

Young people are especially at risk due to the amount of sugar consumed in their diets. As a dental professional, it is important to have an up-to-date knowledge of nutritional recommendations in order to counsel patients.¹

Sugars are generally divided into two types: naturally occurring (those found in whole fruit, vegetables and milk-based products) and free sugars (added monosaccharides and disaccharides, plus those naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and concentrates). Free sugars can be very detrimental to health and, while foods such as fruit and dairy products can be a good source of vitamins, minerals and fibre, foods containing free sugars often have very little or no nutritional benefit.²