Use Sugars Only in Moderation

Americans eat sugars in many forms. Sugars provide calories and most people like their taste. Some serve as natural preservatives, thickeners, and baking aids in foods. This guideline cautions about eating sugars in large amounts and about frequent snacks of foods containing sugars and starches.

Sugars and many foods that contain them in large amounts supply calories but are limited in nutrients. Thus, they should be used in moderation by most healthy people and sparingly by people with low calorie needs. For very active people with high calorie needs, sugars can be an additional source of calories.

Both sugars and starches -- which break down into sugars -- can contribute to tooth decay. Sugars and starches are in many foods that also supply nutrients -- milk; fruits; some vegetables; and breads, cereals, and other foods with sugars and starches as ingredients. The more often these foods -- even small amounts -- are eaten and the longer they are in the mouth before teeth are brushed, the greater the risk for tooth decay. Thus, eating such foods as frequent between-meal snacks may be more harmful to teeth than having them at meals.

Regular daily brushing with a fluoride toothpaste helps reduce tooth decay by getting fluoride to the teeth. Fluoridated water or other sources of fluoride that a doctor or dentist suggests are especially important for children whose unerupted teeth are forming and growing.

Diets high in sugars have not been shown to cause diabetes. The most common type of diabetes occurs in overweight adults, and avoiding sugars alone will not correct overweight.

Advice for today: Use sugars in moderate amounts -- sparingly if your calorie needs are low. Avoid excessive snacking and brush and floss your teeth regularly.

 table sugar (sucrose)      honey
 brown sugar                syrup
 raw sugar                  corn sweetener
 glucose (dextrose)         high-fructose corn syrup
 fructose                   molasses                      
 maltose                    fruit juice concentrate                     
 lactose                                          
 

Read food labels. A food is likely to be high in sugars if its ingredient list shows one of the above first or second or if it shows several of them.

FOR HEALTHIER TEETH AND GUMS --

• Moderate the use of foods containing sugars and starches between meals.
• Brush and floss teeth regularly,
• Use a fluoride toothpaste.
• Ask your dentist or doctor about the need for supplemental fluoride, especially for children.
• Do not use a nursing bottle with any beverage other than water as a pacifier.

Back to Dietary Guidelines for Americans Introduction