Dunstable: 01582 608 400 
Leighton Buzzard: 01525 372 447 
Dunstable: 01582 608 400 
Leighton Buzzard: 01525 372 447 

Time to swap your sugars! 

We all know that we should watch how much sugar we eat each day but do we know what our guidelines are and all the different sources of our sugar intake. A recent visit to my dentist has inspired me to write this article. 
We wouldn’t eat sugar straight from the sugar bowl. But we tend not to think about the sugar lurking in the other things we eat and drink. The problem is that excess sugar means excess energy, which in turn can lead to stored fat in the body and diseases like heart disease, some cancers and type 2 diabetes. Eating too much sugar can also cause tooth decay. 
Drink Swap: Around a quarter of the added sugar in kids’ diets today comes from sugary drinks. Sugary drinks have no place in a child’s daily diet. Swap to water, lower fat milks, sugar free, diet and no added sugar drinks instead. Swap to a homemade milkshake, a favourite in our household is banana milkshake. 
1 Raw, frozen banana 
Soya Milk (swap for normal milk if preferred) 
1 teaspoon Cocoa Nibs 
4 Almonds 
Stick all above ingredients in a juicer or equivalent for a cold, delicious healthy milkshake for all anytime of the day. 
Snack Swap: Choose healthy snacks instead of sweet snacks. Sunflower seeds and nuts are a great choice in small quantities and plain yogurt with raw fruit is better than sweet commercially prepared yogurts. Make cakes and biscuits at home with the kids and reduce the amount of sugar you add. 
Breakfast Swap: Adults should swap to plain porridge, plain whole-wheat biscuits or plain shredded whole grain. For kids, gradually combine above with their normal cereal until you have switched over to a low sugar or sugar free breakfast. Alternatives could include making muesli at home with the kids at the weekend with oats, dried fruits, nuts and Greek yogurt. Use a glass and layer Greek yogurt with fruits and oats and nuts for a change. 