Sugar Awareness Week is nearly here!
What’s wrong with Sugar?
- Obviously too much sugar can lead to weight gain
- High-sugar diets have been associated with an increased risk of many diseases, including heart disease, the number one cause of death worldwide
- Too much sugar may increase your risk of Type 2 diabetes
- Studies have linked excessive consumption of sugar to Alzheimers later in life
What’s the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDI)?
The National Diet and Nutrition Survey 2018 showed that most people in the UK are consuming almost three times the recommended daily sugar intake.
The NHS advises no more than 30g or 7 sugar cubes (about 7tsp) for adults.
Children aged 7-10 should have no more than 24g or 6 sugar cubes a day.
The RDA for sugar doesn’t just refer to white sugar, it includes all ‘free sugars’. Free sugars are any sugars added to food or drink and sugars which are naturally present in something (e.g. honey, maple syrup, fruit juice). We all need to be alert because free sugars come under a confusing variety of names: agave nectar, caramel, invert sugar, sucrose, glucose, dextrose, maltodextrin – the list goes on…and on!
How do I keep tabs on the sugar I’m consuming?
Be vigilant if you are buying any processed foods (such as baked beans, tinned soup, pasta sauces). Find the Information box and look at the “Carbohydrates” where it will state “of which sugars”.
Have in mind: 4 grams of sugar = 1 teaspoon of sugar so you ascertain the “Carbohydrates – of which sugars” amount and divide by 4 to work out how many teaspoons of sugar an item contains.
Let’s count the Carbohydrates of which sugars in some popular items to get an idea
- 15g (just over a teaspoon of sugar) per a small 30g serving of cocoa pops
- 1g (1.5 teaspoons of sugar) per 45g serving of Sainsbury’s Simply Granola
- 7g (over 2 teaspoons of sugar) per half can serving of tomato soup
What about sweeteners?
Some artificial sweeteners have been linked to headaches and mood swings. I advocate clean eating and eating chemical free food so artificial sweeteners don’t feature in my recommendations.
How to eat less sugar
- Eat nutrient dense foods that offer more nutritional value per calorie, helping you keep fuller for longer.
- Limit sugar and those foods (like white pasta, white bread, white rice) which convert quickly to sugar and then cause blood sugar levels to crash so we feel hungry again quickly. Substitute for wholegrains.
- Eat good quality fats, (e.g. almonds, avocados) and protein (eggs, white fish, nuts) which don’t cause blood sugar to rise much and will give you slow release energy. Good quality fats and protein will not make you fat!
- When you have sweet treats try to combine protein, for example an energy ball made of dried fruits and nuts. Including protein again slows down the release of sugar keeping your blood sugar stable and keeping you fuller for longer. My favourite energy ball recipe is here: https://deliciouslyella.com/recipes/cacao-almond-energy-ball/ (my children also love them!). The only substitution I make is to use cheaper normal unsweetened dates rather than the Medjool dates used in the recipe.
- When I’m cooking I always substitute white sugar with less refined sugars and reduce the amount. If you’re addicted to sugar it’s time to re-train the taste buds! There are also plenty of alternative sugars and sweeteners out there that while still counting as ‘free sugars’ (so still counting towards your RDA) also contain important nutrients (my favourites are blackstrap molasses, coconut blossom sugar and rapadura sugar).
