What’s in your Christmas coffee?
Denplan has moved to highlight the high sugar content found in some festive drinks this Christmas.
Using the below video, Denplan, a specialist provider of dental payment plans, explains that some hot chocolates can contain up to 24 teaspoons of sugar, and might be more detrimental to your oral health than you think.
The World Health Organisation suggests that an adult should consume no more than 12 teaspoons of ‘free’ sugars a day.
This is in stark contrast to the levels of sugar found in some high street coffee drinks.
Yougov, on behalf of Denplan, found that customers would like to know more about the sugar levels found in their food and drinks, with only 35% of adults believing that retailers and food companies do enough to let them know about sugar content, and 73% of respondents saying retailers and food companies should reduce sugar levels in food and drinks.
‘While most people will probably be aware that their festive drink contains some levels of sugar, they might not be aware of the sheer quantity,’ says Henry Clover, deputy chief dental officer at Denplan.
‘Many of the festive coffees, lattes and hot chocolates that we looked at across a range of high street coffee chains contained, on average, around 12 to 18 teaspoons of sugar in their largest portion sizes.
‘One caramel fudge hot chocolate from a popular coffee chain even contained a shocking 24 teaspoons of sugar – that’s the equivalent to around two and a half cans of cola.
‘As a one-off treat, a sugary festive drink won’t do you any harm, but if you get into the habit of frequently consuming high levels of sugar, this may cause tooth decay.
‘Every time we eat or drink something sugary, bacteria in our mouths produce acids that can cause tooth decay.
‘A high sugar diet is also linked to other health problems such as obesity and diabetes.’