Sugar is hard to avoid. Supermarket shelves are groaning under the weight of sweets and chocolates in store for Christmas, not to mention the hidden sugars in soups, sauces and other unexpected foods in your grocery shop.
Most of us eat too much of the stuff. It is estimated that most adults and children in the UK eat about 17 teaspoonfuls of added sugar a day. That’s more than double the maximum recommended daily intake.
This is bad news for our health. It is making us fat and unhealthy. Most of us know that too much sugar can is bad for our teeth and makes us gain weight, but did you know that it can also impact your mood, energy, blood pressure and even your digestive health?
This is Sugar Awareness Week, so it’s the perfect time to start thinking about your sugar intake and how you can cut back a little without feeling deprived, or as if you are on a diet.
Most of us know that too much sugar can is bad for our teeth and makes us gain weight, but did you know that it can also impact your mood, energy, blood pressure and even your digestive health?
If you want to keep an eye on your sugar load, then start getting to know your food labels. The messaging on the front of packs is mostly marketing, designed to tempt us into buying. Take a closer look at the back of the pack and see how much sugar there is per 100g. Aim for 5g or less for a low sugar food and remember that anything over 22g per 100g is a high sugar food.
When you start to look, you will notice that sugar is everywhere. Not just in sweeties and chocolate - it’s found in savoury foods like salad dressings, sauces, soups and peanut butter, in breads and cereals, fruit juice and flavoured yoghurts, so you are probably eating more than you think.
If you are keen to cut back, it is a good idea to keep a food diary for two or three days to work out when and why you are craving the sweet stuff. Is it because you are hungry, or just because it is 3pm?
Once you get an idea of how often you are eating sweet things, then aim to cut your intake in half. For example, if you are reaching for toast and jam mid-morning, a biscuit after lunch, a bar in the afternoon and sweet treat as a reward in the evening, set yourself the goal of reducing from four times a day to twice a day.
Look at how you could make some simple swaps in your day to cut back on your sugar load a little.
Here are some ideas:
Opt for low sugar granola
Replace your high protein granola at breakfast (some of them contain 22g sugar per 100g) with a low sugar granola. Have with yoghurt and berries, or get into porridge with nuts and seeds and a sprinkle of cinnamon for these colder mornings.
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Drop the fruit juice
There is as much sugar in a glass of fruit juice as there is in a glass of coke.
Shake up your snacks
Try oatcakes and sugar-free nut butter, some 70% cocoa cholate and a few brazil nuts, or some natural yoghurt and fruit for better snacks.
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Make your own sauces
Blitz up some fresh herbs with garlic, lemon and olive oil for a quick pasta sauce.
Use curry paste instead of curry sauce
Curry paste tends to have a lower sugar content.
Swap jaffa cakes to digestives
Even the chocolate ones are a better choice for your sugar load.
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Just take care that you are not replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners as these chemicals can affect our digestion and may trigger sugar cravings too.
For more hot tips, visit www.actiononsugar.org
