Oral healthcare experts have published guidelines to help Easter egg fans enjoy their seasonal chocolate treats in a healthier way.
Chocolate consumption in the UK has risen by five per cent annually in recent years, a trend that market intelligence experts Mintel expect to continue up to 2016.
And that does not bode well for teeth and gums, with increases such as these likely to impact on serious conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, respiratory disease, osteoporosis and some cancers.
The oral health experts at Elgydium and Eludril are recommending a ‘keeping Easter special’ policy by not eating any eggs before Easter Sunday – a healthier alternative to the approach taken by many UK supermarkets, some of which started selling chocolate eggs as early as Christmas Eve.
The oral healthcare experts recommend:
• Buy a smaller egg
• Consider dark chocolate with a high cocoa content before milk or white chocolate that can have more sugar
• Check out the sugar content of various Easter eggs and buy one that is lower in sugar
• Buy an egg without any additional bars of branded sweets in the same pack or chocolates in the centre of the egg – buy an egg that just has the shell
• Eat some of the Easter egg as an alternative to dessert – after meals rather than between them as a snack
• Wait 30 minutes before brushing your teeth – brushing immediately can damage the dentin below the enamel.
A spokesperson for Elgydium and Eludril said: ‘It’s no secret that eating too much sugar-laden chocolate at Easter – or any other time – will have a negative impact on your teeth and your waistline.
‘But few people stop and think about how too much sugar can lead to gingivitis and all the potentially serious conditions that have been associated with it.’
For more, see www.gumproblems.co.uk
