How to spot sugar in food labels

supermarket1
supermarket1

There has been a lot in the news recently about sugar – and not fat – being enemy number one in our diets. Teasing apart truth from fiction can be difficult, I know I was getting confused by all the conflicting information! So after a lot of research, I present to you the facts about sugar, how to find added sugar on nutritional labels and some interesting foods that you may not have realised are contributing to your daily sugar intake.

Hopefully, this can help remove the sugar headache literally and figuratively for you.

What are the risks of a diet containing too much sugar?

  • Obesity – if there is an excess amount of daily kilojoules in the diet from sugary treats
  • Tooth decay – as sugar helps to break down tooth enamel
  • Empty calories – as sugar does not provide essential vitamins and minerals, unlike some other calorie rich foods
  • High GI – which means that our energy levels spike and fall rapidly
  • Candida infections – sugar encourages the growth of candida or thrush

While the “No Sugar” diet is perhaps a bit of a fad, cutting any excess sugar from your diet is a must for good health.

Where can I find sugar on the label?

Shopping in supermarket with trolley

Added sugar can be seen on a product’s list of ingredients in any of the following forms:

  • Glucose
  • Fructose
  • Sucrose
  • Corn syrup
  • Maltose
  • Honey
  • Molasses
  • Hydrolysed starch

Items that are low in sugar will have 5g or less of sugar for every 100g (5% sugar), items that are moderate in sugar will have < 22.5g of sugar per 100g (22.5% sugar), and anything above is high in sugar.

Where is the excess sugar hiding?

It’s all well and good to cut the sugary treats from our diet that we know are there – swapping soft drink for lemon water, or unsweetened teas, and swapping chocolate for a cup of unsweetened cocoa – what it can be difficult to see is the sugar hidden in other foods that you might not realise.

Did you know the following have a high sugar content?

screen-shot-2017-02-22-at-3-28-41-pmTomato sauce – Watties Tomato Sauce Squeeze (31.8g of sugar per 100g)

Substitute for: Watties Tomato Sauce 50% Less Sugar (14g of sugar per 100g)

 

Breakfast cereal – Kelloggs Cereal Sultana Bran (22.7g of sugar per 100g)

Substitute for: Ceres Organics Muesli Original Organic Bircher (9.9g of sugar per 100g)

 

 

“Lite” salad dressings – Eta Lite & Free Salad Dressing Honey Mustard (28.6g of sugar per 100ml)

Substitute for: Heinz Seriously Good Salad Dressing Balsamic (5.5g of sugar per 100ml)

 

“Healthy” smoothies – Tank Juice’s “All Berry Tank” Classic Smoothie (21.05g of sugar per 100ml)

Substitute for: Tank Juice’s “Health Nut” Raw Plant Smoothies (2.97g of sugar per 100ml)

 

Tinned fruit – Dole Fruit Salad Mix In Syrup (20g of sugar per 100g)

Substitute for: Watties Fruit Salad Lite (5.5g of sugar per 100g)
As you can see there are hidden sugars everywhere. Make sure to read nutritional information on your foods before decided which option to choose.

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