Mydentist has ranked the top five Christmas drinks from national coffee chains that are most harmful to your teeth.
The Christmas drinks with the most sugar in a standard-sized cup are:
- Mint Hot Chocolate from Pret a Manger – 50.2g of sugar
- Hazelnut Praline Hot Chocolate from Costa Coffee – 38.6g of sugar
- Toasted Marshmallow Hot Chocolate from Starbucks – 36.7g of sugar
- Eggnog Latte from Starbucks – 33.8g of sugar
- Hazelnut Praline Latte from Costa Coffee – 32.6g.
The worst offender in the survey contains as much sugar as 20 McVities digestive biscuits.
‘While we all like to indulge a little over the festive season, some of these drinks really do take the whole packet of biscuits,’ Dr Nyree Whitley, group clinical director of Mydentist, said.
‘The NHS advises that an adult should have no more than 30g of free sugars a day.
‘But all of these festive drinks have more than that.
‘As a rare treat and with good oral health that shouldn’t cause a problem.
‘But if you choose a “festive special” each day you could soon be on the way to irreversible tooth damage.’
Christmas drinks
Mydentist is advising consumers to make themselves aware of hidden sugars in Christmas drinks and to indulge sparingly.
It also suggests consumers choose the smallest option available, with skimmed milk where available.
And it advises people drink water afterwards to prevent sugars sticking to tooth surfaces for the whole day.
‘We’re certainly not here to take the fun out of Christmas,’ Ms Whitley continues.
‘But we’d urge consumers to be aware of how much sugar is in their morning coffee.
‘Where possible it’s also advisable to say no to cream, dairy milk substitutes or extra syrup shots to further reduce the sugar content.’
Christmas treats
The University of Birmingham and Loughborough University carried out the ‘Winter Weight Watch Study’ to prevent weight gain over Christmas.
Volunteers had to weigh themselves twice a week to help monitor their food and drink intake.
‘The festive season coincides with public holidays in many countries, providing an opportunity for prolonged over-consumption and sedentary behaviour,’ first author Frances Mason, of the University of Birmingham’s Institute of Applied Health Research, said.
‘On Christmas Day alone an individual might consume 6,000 calories – three times the recommended daily allowance.
‘Christmas is likely to tax even the most experienced weight controller.
‘Low intensity interventions such as the one used in our Winter Weight Watch Study should be considered by health policy makers.
‘(It can) prevent weight gain in the population during high-risk periods such as holidays.’
