Added sugar, or added bitter?

The FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) released the new Nutrition Facts label for packaged foods on May 20, 2016. The new label will give new scientific information, including the link between diet and chronic diseases such as heart disease and obesity. Here are the comparisons between the original label and the new one.

So, what are the differences?

Right, one of the biggest differences, added sugars. What are added sugars? According to Wikipedia, added sugars refers to sugar carbohydrates (caloric sweeteners) added to food and beverages during their production (industrial processing). This type of sugar is chemically indistinguishable from naturally-occurring sugars, which is known as added energy. In the past, added sugars had no nutritional value, only adding “empty calories”, which was proved wrong later on. Nowadays, people should be aware that consumption of added sugar is mostly related to high calorie intake, excess weight and obesity.

Overall, excessive consumption will increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. As consumers, we need to know how much sugars have been added to the food and how much harm they cause. However, on the old label, we could only see the grams of sugar in the food without knowing the percentage of sugar we need. Obviously, for the food industry to make profit, consumers didn’t have the chance to know all the facts.

How much sugar do we need a day? Here is a Percent Daily Value to tell you.

According to the table, we can see that adults are allowed to have 24-36g of sugar a day, less for children and teenagers.

However, based on the report from Public Health England (PHE), Children and young people consume 3 times the recommended amount of sugar on average, with adults consuming more than double, when the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) recently recommended that sugar makes up no more than 5% of daily calorie intake: 30g or 7 cubes of sugar per day. In England, almost two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese; a tenth of 4 to 5 year olds and almost a fifth of 10 to 11 year olds are obese. Treating obesity and its consequences alone currently costs the NHS £5.1 billion every year.

Here are some tips from the NHS to tell you how to cut down your consumption of added sugar. http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/how-to-cut-down-on-sugar-in-your-diet.aspx

Breakfast

Many breakfast cereals are high in sugar. Try switching to low-sugar cereals or those with no added sugar. If you add sugar to your cereal, you could try adding less. Or you could eat a smaller portion and add some chopped fruit, such as a pear or banana, which is an easy way of getting some of your 5 A DAY. If toast is your breakfast staple, try whole wheat or granary bread, which is higher in fibre than white bread, and see if you can get by with a little less of your usual spreads like jam, marmalade, honey or chocolate. Or you could try sugar-free or low-sugar options.

Main meals

Beware of ready-made soups, stir-in sauces and ready meals. They can also be higher in sugar than you think. For instance, a third of an average-sized jar of pasta sauce (roughly 150g) can contain more than 13g of sugar, including added sugar – the equivalent of three teaspoons of sugar. When eating out or buying takeaways, watch out for dishes that are typically high in sugar, such as sweet and sour dishes, sweet chilli dishes and some curry sauces, as well as salads with dressings like salad cream, which can also be high in sugar. Condiments and sauces such as ketchup can have as much as 23g of sugar in 100g – roughly half a teaspoon per serving. These foods are usually served in small quantities, but the sugar count can add up if eaten every day.

Snacks

Healthier snack options are those without added sugar, such as fruit (fresh, tinned or frozen), unsalted nuts, unsalted rice cakes, oatcakes, or homemade plain popcorn.

Drinks

Nearly a quarter of the added sugar in our diets comes from sugary drinks, such as fizzy drinks, sweetened juices, squashes, and cordials. For example, a 500ml bottle of cola contains the equivalent of 17 cubes of sugar. Try sugar-free varieties, or – better yet – water, lower-fat milk, or soda water with a splash of fruit juice. Limit your intake of fruit juice or smoothies to 150ml a day. Instead, You could try flavouring water with a slice of lemon, lime, or a splash of fruit juice.

Dessert

Less sugary desserts include fruit – fresh, frozen, dried, or tinned, but choose those canned in juice rather than syrup – as well as lower-fat and lower-sugar rice pudding, and plain lower-fat yoghurt, besides, always compare the labels on the packages and go for the one with the lower amount of sugar.