Sugar

What is sugar?

Sugar is a carbohydrate which is found naturally in many foods like milk and fruit but is added to products such as sweets, biscuits, cakes, and fizzy drinks – this is the same for normal and gluten-freeWhen a food has less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten so it is safe for people with coeliac disease to eat. products. Sugar that is added to foods may be labelled as glucose, maltose, sucrose or fructose so you may see these terms in ingredients lists.

Sugar should only be consumed in small amounts and as part of a balanced diet. According to the Food Standards Agency ‘eatwell plate’, foods and drinks high in fat and/or sugar should be limited to 7% of our overall diet. Any sugar that we eat is broken down into glucose which is the energy source used by our bodies.

Sugary foods can cause tooth decay when consumed in between meals. If too much sugar is eaten, it can lead to weight gain due to the high calorie content; this can then increase your risk of developing illnesses like Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Sugar Recommendations

The guideline daily amounts for sugar are roughly 70g for men and 50g for women; this however depends on size, age and how active you are. Most children and adults in the UK eat more sugar than is recommended as part of a balanced diet. We should all try and cut down on foods which are high in sugar and try and get our calories from other sources such as starchy foods and fruit and vegetables.

Fruit juices can also count as an added sugar but are still a healthy choice as a 150ml serving counts towards your 5 a day. However, fruit juices should be taken as part of a meal as the sugars can damage your teeth.

Foods High in Sugar

Many foods and drinks contain added sugar in quite high amounts which you might not realise and so it is best to check the labels. A few foods to look out for are:

• Cakes and biscuits
• Breakfast cereals
• Tinned fruit in syrup
• Yoghurts
• Fizzy and alcoholic drinks

There is currently no evidence to suggest that glutenA protein that is found in the cereals wheat, barley and rye. -free products contain any more sugar compared to normal varieties. It is always best to check the labelling on all products and choose varieties containing the least amount of sugar.

Labelling

As sugar is frequently used by manufacturers to sweeten products it is always best to check and read the nutritional information. The nearer the beginning of the ingredient list the sugar is, the more sugar the product contains. Sugar has many different names but it is best to look for the ‘Carbohydrates (of which sugars)’ figure to see how much sugar the product contains per 100g. As a basic guide:

Packaging often uses a traffic light system to show whether a food is low, medium or high in sugar with red indicating a high sugar level and green indicating a low sugar level.

Top Tips to Decrease Sugar Intake

By cutting down the amount of sugar you consume in foods, you will reduce your risk of becoming overweight and decrease your chance of developing serious illnesses. Here are a few top tips to help reduce your sugar intake:

• Cut down on sweet snacks like sweets, biscuits and cakes.
• If you put sugar on your breakfast cereal try cutting it out all together and replace with dried fruit instead. Dried fruit contains natural sugars but also count towards your 5 a day.
• Choose water or unsweetened fruit juices instead of fizzy drinks.
• If you have sugar in hot drinks, try to gradually cut down the amount you put in until you can cut it out altogether.
• Check the labels on processed foods and try to pick ones containing less sugar.
• Choose tinned fruit in fruit juice rather than in syrup.
• Try reducing the sugar you put in recipes when cooking and baking.