The holidays are a wonderful time with family, friends, gifts, and indulgent desserts. However, too much sugar can impact your family’s oral health! There are several healthier alternatives and recipe substitutions for holiday desserts. These include swapping cups of sugar out for apple sauce, topping cakes and cookies with nuts and dried fruit, or swapping out candy for a board game instead. All of these steps will reduce the amount of sugar you and your family consume during the holiday season.
Healthy holiday treats for kids
The reason sugar is bad for your teeth is that bacteria love to eat sugar. When bacteria in your mouth break down sugar, the bacteria release acid. The acid weakens tooth enamel, leading to tooth decay and cavities. The good news is that reducing the amount of sugar in holiday treats can be easy! If you swap out as much white sugar with fruit or nuts, you will add more nutritional value and less of that acid on your children’s teeth. Here are several ideas for holiday treats that can have less sugar but still taste just as good.
