3 Tips to Help You Stop Snacking on Sugar
#SugarBalancedLiving
We all know that eating too much sugar is bad for us and can wreak havoc on our overall health, and especially our teeth and overall oral hygiene. Yet sometimes, despite our best intentions, it can be a real challenge to resist the allure of sugary treats. The good news is that there are some strategies you can put in place to help remind yourself to stop eating sugar, or at least cut down on your sugar intake, and make some healthier choices. With that in mind, keep reading to find out what you can do.
Know Why It’s Bad
Sometimes just having knowledge is enough to remember not to eat sugar. In fact, the more you know about why sugar is bad for you, the more you’ll steer clear of it, and knowing why it’s so addictive can be helpful. The problem with sugar is that it triggers the release of dopamine in the brain, and that creates feelings of pleasure and satisfaction. It’s like you’re rewarding yourself for consuming sugar, so you fall into a trap because of it.
Knowing this is what happens means you can resist the urge to consume sugar and do something else instead, knowing it’s a trick your mind will play on you. Or you could find a healthier alternative to eat. You’ll feel like you’ve achieved something when you resist the sugar too, and ironically, that can boost your dopamine levels anyway.
Something else that can help is taking care of your teeth better. The more you look after your oral health by visiting a dentist regularly, brushing and flossing at least twice a day, and perhaps even investing in professional teeth whitening, the less likely it is you’ll want to do anything that might harm your precious teeth.
Think About Your Oral Health
If you’re thinking about getting orthodontic treatment like braces or clear aligners, this can actually be another great way to help you remember to cut back on how much sugar you have - or eliminate it altogether. When you wear clear aligners, you’ll have them in your mouth for a good few hours a day, and every time you want to eat, you’ll have to remove them - this gives you the chance to pause for a moment and think about what you’re about to eat. If it’s sugary, you can change it to something else because you’ve had the time to consider things.
If you use that moment when you take your aligners out before you eat to think about the food you’re about to consume, you’ll find it easier to make lots of healthy choices, not just ones that link to sugar. It could be the ideal way to get healthier and have straighter teeth at the same time. 🤭
Also, some people think that professional teeth whitening will keep their oral health up to speed and looking fresh, but sugar does speed up tooth decay if you’re snacking throughout the day.
Stay Hydrated
Did you know that dehydration can mimic the feelings of hunger and that sometimes you might only think you’re hungry when in fact, you’re just not drinking enough? Make sure you always have water with you and that you drink it throughout the day (waiting until you’re really hungry and then gulping down lots of water isn’t as good for you as sipping it gradually). If you still feel hungry, you can find something healthy to eat, but it might be that your hunger pangs disappear once you’ve had a drink.
Of course, the key here is to drink water and not something sugary. You might be stopping yourself from snacking on sugar, but you’ll still be doing plenty of damage to your teeth in the meantime and also, consuming sugar in liquid form has worse side effects on your body than if you were to just eat it.