Let’s make a confession. We all drool over sweets!
So, it's not just you. Every age group exceeds the UK’s daily recommended sugar intake limit. Hardly does a day ever pass without some calorie and fat-rich delicacies being offered.
Foods high in sugar and calories are more alluring than ever. A small amount of sugar poses no health risk to most people. However, the issue arises when we regularly cross the UK's sugar daily intake limit. Everyone is aware of the health benefits of reducing their intake of refined sugar and artificial sweeteners.
How, therefore, can you reduce your sugar daily intake in a significant way without giving up your favourite flavours and foods? Read on and unwind all the solutions.
Since the sugar content of common foods and beverages has skyrocketed recently, present generations consume more sugar than their ancestors did (even if they don't plan to).
To answer, what foods are the worst offenders, and how can we limit the amount of sugar we consume? Let’s look at what sugars (Natural, Free and Added sugars) are, the UK’s daily recommended sugar intake, and what threats they impose on our health.
You can consume all your favourite flavours by seriously looking at the UK’s daily recommended sugar intake limit and making up a mind to follow it.
Small carbohydrate molecules called sugars appear naturally in several food items and are used by the brain and body as fuel. When sugar is extracted from food, it can be processed to create a range of sugars with various flavours and properties.
Sugar boosts flavour. Additionally, it stimulates our brain's reward systems, resulting in the production of dopamine - a happy chemical.
Monosaccharides (single sugars) like glucose, fructose, and galactose as well as disaccharides (two monosaccharides bonded together) like sucrose (table sugar), lactose (milk sugar), and maltose are the most prevalent sugars present in food products.
We are all aware that we should restrict our intake of sugar, but what exactly are "free" sugars and how can we prevent overindulgence?
Fruit, vegetables, and milk all contain sugars, but they don't appear to be harmful to human health because they also contain additional nutrients like fibre.
However, when the fruit is juiced, the sugars leave the fruit's cells and become free sugars. Fibre is lost, making it simpler to eat more sugar without noticing it. Even while you wouldn't eat four oranges in one sitting, you could drink one glass of orange juice and not feel full.
Limiting added and free sugars is recommended.
In the current food landscape, picking items that seem to be "healthy" is getting out of hand. Despite exceeding the UK’s sugar daily intake limit, several goods are advertised as healthy.
Following is the list of common aliases of added sugar:
Make it a habit to read the ingredient list on the food you consume so that you don’t cross the UK’s daily recommended sugar intake limit. Reconsider adding sugar in your shopping cart if it appears in the first three or four items.
Health professionals have become even more concerned about the problems directly connected to excessive sugar consumption because sugar can be an unwanted and unhealthy source of calories.
A recommendation level for total sugars, which includes sugars that are present naturally in fruit and other components, can be found on the back of food packages.
Unfortunately, the amount of "free sugars" is not often disclosed on nutrition labels, which typically list the total amount of sugar in a food. You can compare product labels and select items with less sugar overall.
Look for the Carbohydrates figure of sugar. Approximately 22.5g of total sugar per 100g is high. Whereas low - 5g or less of total sugars per 100g.
Keeping an eye out for foods with hidden sugars is also crucial. Many foods that we don't think of as sweet, such as bread, pasta sauce, and ketchup, can contain added sugar. To find out how much sugar is in packaged foods, always read the label.
On the front of certain food packages, there are labels with nutritional information. This contains recommendations on reference intakes (RIs) for specific nutrients, which can include sugar, as well as labels that employ the red, amber, and green color-coding system.
You can quickly determine whether a food has a high, medium, or low sugar content thanks to labels that use color coding:
The recommended daily intake of total sugars is 90g, including 30g of "free sugars."
Sugary drinks, sugar-sweetened cereals, confectionery, table sugar, and fruit juice are the main sources of free sugars in UK diets. Age does, however, affect the relative quantities of the primary food sources.
Majority of the population consumes cereals and cereal products, such as cakes, biscuits, and pastries, but milk and milk products are more important to young children's intakes than to older children or adults, and non-alcoholic beverages are more important to 11 to 18-year-olds than to other age groups.
Many of us may be consuming too many calories because of our love affair with sugar, which is one of the reasons behind our ever-growing waistlines.
The National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) rolling program, a continuous survey of food and nutrition in adults and children aged 18 months and above, provides nationally representative data on free sugars consumption of the UK population. Results from the rolling program (2016-2019) indicate:
Remember that the naturally occurring sugars in fruit, vegetables, and dairy products are not included in your daily sugar allowance.
The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) proposes following recommendations on the consumption of free sugars. (“The science of sugar”)
Knowing which meals and beverages are rich in added sugar will help you avoid them and stay inside your daily limit of 30g. To put this into context, an average 330ml can of fizzy drink can have up to 35g or 9 teaspoons of free sugar.
Some tips for reducing your daily sugar intake include reading food labels, choosing unsweetened foods and drinks, and swapping sugary snacks for healthier options like fruit or nuts.
So, if you cut added sugar out, what are your alternate options?
Prof. Susan Jebb of the University of Oxford remarked, "We need to cut back on sugar intake but shouldn't switch to fat." "Fruit and vegetables should make up a larger portion of our plates, along with more whole grains and fibre-rich carbohydrates."
Since a high consumption of free sugars is linked to poor diet, obesity, and an increased risk of non-communicable diseases, it is a public health concern. Monitoring the population's dietary intake of sugars is crucial for assessing the effectiveness of governmental policies to reduce sugar consumption.
Some policy actions that can help promote the UK’s daily recommended sugar intake include implementing sugar taxes, creating public awareness campaigns, and improving food labeling laws.
Cutting down on sugary drinks is an easy way to reduce your sugar intake and improve your health. The most important thing to keep in mind is that eating a balanced diet is the key to good health. Foods that are indulgent, such as those high in fat and/or sugar, can be savoured, but only on rare occasions and not every day. Majority of the foods in our diets should be healthy, wholesome staples.
Understanding the UK's daily recommended sugar intake is an important step towards a healthier lifestyle. By cutting down on sugary drinks, processed foods, and hidden sugars, we can balance our sugar intake and reduce our risk of health problems.
Unlock a healthier, happier you with low-sugar living.
If you want to discover more about the connection between sugar and sleep, check out this blog: Does sugar before bed keep you awake?