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In fact, liquid sugars like honey, agave syrup and maple syrup can end up giving a double dose of calories, says Helen Bond, because they’re poured or squirted into drinks and foods meaning the quantity is harder to measure.įruit juice Manufacturers frequently use fruit juice and puree as a way of sweetening products, such as children’s snacks, and claiming they contain ‘no added sugar’. Again, though, it’s essentially just sugar, containing about three calories per gram. It contains three calories per gram, comparable to table sugar’s four calories.Īgave syrup Extracted from a type of cactus, this has become a fashionable product to add to foods and drinks, and to use in baking. “It’s ‘natural’, but then you could say sugar is natural, too, as it comes from sugar cane or beet,” says Helen Bond.

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Honey Despite various claims about honey containing amino acids, vitamins and minerals, it’s still a free sugar, with the same effects on the body as table sugar, and any additional nutritional benefits remain unproven. “The vast majority of our sugar intake comes from foods we all know we shouldn’t have too much of – cakes and biscuits and fizzy drinks and so on,” agrees Benelam.Īnd is there such a thing as a healthy sugar? “Honey and syrups can have a ‘health halo’, but they really are just sugar – and sugar in a packet is no less ‘natural’,” she says. Many cereals contain added sugar, but they’re going to provide fibre and wholegrains, too.” She says traffic light labels can be useful – as can looking out for anything with ‘sugar’ among the first two items on its ingredients list. “Look at the broader picture: a yogurt might have sugar, but that may come from fruit. “I don’t believe in demonising any one nutrient,” says Helen Bond, a dietitian and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association. It’s virtually impossible to go on a truly sugar-free diet, and if you’re trying to take a healthy approach to sugar, experts advise looking at the foods you’re eating and taking a common-sense approach. The main culprit is table sugar, sweets, chocolate and preserves, with soft drinks the second biggest source in our diets, followed by alcohol, then buns and cakes, then fruit juice. The average British adult gets through 57g free sugar a day – the average teenager even more at 67.1g. Public Health England recommends adults and children aged 11 or over consume no more than 30g free sugars, or 7 sugar cubes, per day. (However, labels on foods don’t distinguish or clarify where their sugars have come from.) There is less concern over naturally occurring sugars, found naturally in fruit, vegetables and milk, as these don’t seem to have the same effects on health and these foods contain other important nutrients such as fibre, vitamins and minerals. It’s free sugars that are associated with tooth decay and excess calorie consumption, ergo weight gain and all its related health woes. To recap, the big concern is over ‘free sugars’ – those added to foods or drinks by the manufacturer, or ourselves. As always in nutrition, the truth is shades of grey.” “They either tend to think that ‘natural’ sugars, like honey, are fine, or they’re on the other side and think you shouldn’t have any sugar, not even fruit. “People do get confused about where sugar comes from and whether some are better than others,” says Bridget Benelam, a scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation. This month, the group Action on Sugar warned that consumers are being misled over the supposed benefits of honeys and syrups which, despite their ‘natural’ image, are no better for us than table sugar.Īnd though the government still says fruit juice can count towards your five a day, a new US study has found a daily (large) glass may be worse for health than drinking cola or lemonade. Wholesome-looking foods, from cereals to children’s snacks, are marketed as having no ‘refined’ or ‘added’ sugar, despite still having very high overall levels from fruit or sugar alternatives, such as honey. It’s unsurprising, given the mixed messages we continue to receive. You’ve cut back on booze, sip matcha green tea and haven’t looked at a rasher of bacon for months, but tell the truth: do you have any idea how much sugar you’re consuming? Despite years of dire warnings and the launch of a sugar ‘tax’ on soft drinks last year, we’re still eating far more than the recommended level, and confusion is rife: a 2017 study found Britons eat up to 50 per cent more sugar than they think.

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