Sugar nation
Sugar has lost its glow amidst ongoing public health messages that paint a fairly grim picture of how it affects our health. This has sparked a food trend to avoid sweetened products and remover sugar from the diet altogether, however it remains a big part of life for many of us. This begs the question, is sugar really that bad for us? And if so, how much is acceptable?
A weighty issue
Jessica Byrne from the Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa says the bottom line is that our bodies don’t need sugar. ‘Too much sugar can be unhealthy. Regular consumption of sweetened foods and drinks adds unnecessary kilojoules to the diet which can lead to weight gain, increasing the risk for many chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease and stroke. SA has a massive burden of overweight and obesity, with two in three women and almost one in three men classified as overweight or obese. Our children are being affected too – almost one in four children in SA is overweight or obese and consuming too much sugar is contributing to this problem.’
Sugar water
Did you know that certain fruit juices contain as much sugar as fizzy cold drinks? Here’s a rough guide to the sugar content of popular beverages:
- Fizzy drink (340 ml): 8 tsp
- Unsweetened apple juice (340 ml): 8 tsp
- Chocolate milk (355 ml): 10 tsp
- Iced tea (330 ml): 6.7 tsp
- Vitamin water (500ml): 6.5 tsp
- Energy drink (500ml): 6.7 tsp
It’s a sobering reality that a glass of apple juice contains as much sugar as a fizzy drink. Sure it’s in the form of naturally occurring fruit sugar (fructose), but it affects the body in the same way as table sugar. In her book Raising Healthy, Happy Children (Quivertree Publishing), paediatric dietician Kath Megaw implores parents to ditch fruit juice. ‘Fruit juice is not a fruit substitute; it’s a sugary cold drink. Inside your child’s body it does the same thing as a fizzy drink. Both lead to a quick release of excess sugar into your child’s bloodstream.’
The hidden truth
Part of the problem is the liberal addition of sugar by manufacturers to everyday food products. Many products already contain natural sugar in the form of fructose or lactose; the addition of further sweeteners makes the sugar quantity unnecessarily high. Here are a few common offenders (these values represent the total sugar quantity, including naturally occurring sugars and those added artificially):
Sweetened yoghurt (100g): 3 tsp
Peanut butter (100g): 2 to 2.5 tsp
Snack bar (50g): 4 tsp
Sweetened breakfast cereal (30g): 2.5 tsp
Chocolate bar (40g): 5 tsp
These quantities add up during the course of the day and it’s easy for children to exceed the recommended daily allowance for sugar with just a few small servings.
How much sugar is too much?
According to the World Health Organization, free sugars (sugar added to foods and drinks) should not make up more than 10 percent of one’s total energy intake. They go on to say that a further reduction to below five percent or roughly 25 grams (six teaspoons) per day would provide additional health benefits.
Follow these principles to reduce your sugar intake:
- Eat real, whole food. Make meals from scratch with the focus on fresh vegetables and lean meat.
- Reduce the amount of sugar you take in hot beverages and cereal.
- Give your children water instead of juice. (Don’t even stock juice in the house, it will only serve as a constant source of temptation).
- Snack sparingly on fruit, vegetables and raw nuts.
- Stop putting condiments on the table at mealtimes. Most brands of store-bought mayonnaise, tomato sauce and chutney are filled with sugar, preservatives and other unhealthy ingredients. Instead, flavour your food with herbs, spices and a dash of olive oil.