With school coming up, the priorities of our kids change. It’s back to the seven-hour schoolwork grind and then coming home and doing homework. When this happens, it’s easy for our kids to take a little less care about themselves. They might stop remembering to brush their teeth and often eat quick and unhealthy snacks.
In this article, we will discuss ideas that are proven to help kids get white teeth. And yes, a lot of it has to do with reducing sugar intake. Cosmetic dentistry in Raleigh, NC is available through businesses like New Hope Dental Care.
Sugar – A Love/Hate Relationship
Most Americans consume a minimum of twice the sugar than they should. Most of this comes from the fact that when it comes to food choices, affordability and taste are considered more than health.
Sugar is delicious and comes in many different forms. There are natural sugars in whole, unprocessed foods like fruits that aren’t harmful. Maple syrup is natural but unhealthy? It’s really confusing! Most of it comes down to the ratio of sugar in a bite to the number of healthy materials. For example, cereals branded for kids have more sugar than their counterparts.
Eating Healthier
Having white teeth and being healthy doesn’t mean that you have to turn your whole life upside down all at once. It just starts with making small choices and then bigger ones. The first thing to consider is the fact that homemade meals are often much healthier as you know what’s going into the food. Premade food often has unhealthy preservatives, for example.
Consider making some meals for your family a few times a week from scratch. If you don’t already eat meals together as a family, it’s likely that your kids are reaching for snacks around the house whenever they get hungry or ask for quick meals like pancakes.
Cookies, cereal, pop-tarts, etc., are all full of sugar. Kids love comfort foods just as much as adults. The one thing that they can’t do is be the one going out and buying the food. Let’s talk more about buying.
Buying Healthier
This is arguably just as hard or harder as forming healthier eating habits. No one said it was going to be easy! What comes into your home will be consumed.
Here are some alternative options to buy for your kids when they need a snack. These won’t damage the enamel.
- Yogurt
- Popcorn (it’s actually a nutritious whole grain, provided it isn’t doused in unhealthy toppings)
- Nuts
- Kale chips
- Sliced pears with ricotta cheese
- Trail mix
- Oatmeal
- Fruit smoothies
- Banana oat cookies
- Pickles
- Sandwiches
- Apples, pineapples, and other various fruit
While buying healthier is often a bit more expensive than buying cookies and pop-tarts, it is an investment in our health. When we save a certain amount of money by buying lower-cost, unhealthy goods, it is countered by future medical bills, doctor and dentist appointments, etc.
Get the Bikini Body
While summer is almost over, now is a good time to get started shaping your body for next year’s summer. With proper exercise and dieting, it shouldn’t take a whole year’s effort unless there’s a lot of shaping to do.
Sugar converts to fat. So this isn’t all about your kids, you should also be taking the right steps for your health, both oral and physical.
Starting early gives you time to make some mistakes and breaks. It’s not easy to do everything right for a whole year. Take it easy and start small. Go to the gym once a week, then twice or three times a week. Swap our cookies for fruit. Keep swapping things out. It gets easier, we promise.
Next year, you’ll be all set to look great on the beach.
The Wrap Up
It is clear that reducing sugar intake, especially for kids, is absolutely necessary. As Americans, we are totally consuming way too much sugar. Less sugar also means fewer dentist appointments where things like root canal in Raleigh, NC are necessary. It’s still important to visit the dentist twice a year. Oral health isn’t just about your teeth.
Cosmetic dentistry services in Raleigh, NC is available today. Request an appointment with New Hope Dental Care here.