Our Hot Drink Culture Is Ruining Our Teeth!

24 / 05 / 2023

Our Hot Drink Culture Is Ruining Our Teeth!

One in seven British adults are now regularly exceeding their sugar intake – from tea and coffee alone, a recent survey showed.

31% of adults add sugar to each cup of tea or coffee they drink

16% of those add at least one teaspoon

3% add more than three teaspoons of sugar to every cup!

With the average Brit drinking four cups of tea/coffee per day, however, three in 10 adults drink 5 or more cups per day.

When you consider that each teaspoon of sugar contains 4g of sugar, it means that those choosing to add 2 teaspoons of sugar or more to their hot drinks are exceeding recommended sugar intake guidelines in their drinks alone.

Those adding one teaspoon of sugar to their drinks are still consuming approx. 10,000g or sugar a year – that’s the equivilent of 35 full cups of sugar!

Not only does this effect your general health, it means that with every hot drink, you are bathing your teeth with liquid sugar – and the frequency of doing this will lead to tooth decay.

Anyone looking to reduce sugar from their diet MUST consider their drink consumption too.

Many coffee shop chains also now offer “shots” of flavoured syrups in their hot drinks – on average, a single shot is approx. 19g of sugar (nearly 5 teaspoons worth!).

With these flavoured drinks appealing to many younger people, it is worth stopping and thinking about the amount of sugar we add to their diets too……