Reducing Sugar in Our Diets

Since 1980, the number of people with diabetes has quadrupled to 422 million adults (8.5% of world population), with many living in developing countries. Reports of Type 2 diabetes in children have also increased dramatically. Type 2 diabetes, which is largely preventable, accounts for 90% of all diabetes worldwide.

This means that the dramatic rise in diabetes rates is being largely caused directly by lifestyle choices.

By Promoting Healthy Choices, we can Reduce Diabetes Cases

WHO have a declared that measures are need to expand ‘health-promoting environments’ to reduce diabetes risk factors, like physical inactivity and unhealthy diets, and to strengthen the capacity of countries, particularly developing ones, in helping people with diabetes receive the treatment and care they need to manage their conditions.

“If we are to make any headway in halting the rise in diabetes, we need to rethink our daily lives: to eat healthily, be physically active, and avoid excessive weight gain,” says Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General.

“Even in the poorest settings, governments must ensure that people are able to make these healthy choices and that health systems are able to diagnose and treat people with diabetes.”

Cutting down on Sugar

To beat preventable diabetes, we need to cut down on sugar, and be more aware of how much sugar is in the things we consume.

Added sugar is the sugar we add to our food and drink. This includes the sugar we stir in our tea or the caster sugar we add to our baking. However, most of the sugar we eat is ‘hidden’ as food manufacturers have put it into a lot of the food and drinks we buy. It’s very easy to be unaware that the amount of sugar you’re consuming is reaching unhealthy levels because it comes in so many forms and in so many products.

Even if we don’t see the word ‘sugar’ listed in the ingredients, it’s often there, but under a different name. For example:

  • glucose
  • sucrose
  • maltose
  • honey
  • molasses
  • maple syrup
  • glucose syrup
  • hydrolysed starch
  • corn syrup
  • agave nectar

Although honey, agave nectar and maple syrup are marketed as healthier alternatives to sugar, they’re really just other forms of sugar.

What are the recommended limits?

Diabetes UK recommends our intake of ‘free sugars’ should not be more than 5 per cent of our daily energy intake.

The maximum daily sugar intake for:

  • children (aged 4 to 7) is 19g, equal to 5 cubes or 5 tsp of sugar
  • children aged (7 to 10) is 24g, equal to 6 cubes or 6 tsp of sugar
  • children (over 11) and adults is 30g, equal to 7 cubes or 7 tsp of sugar

How many teapoons of sugar are in common products?

  • 330ml bottle of pure orange juice = 7
  • 500g jar of pasta sauce = 8
  • 2 scoops of low-fat ice cream = 3
  • 500ml flavoured mineral water = 6
  • coffee shop standard hot chocolate and cream = 10

The easiest way to cut down on sugar is to swap sugary drinks, including fruit juices and smoothies, to water, lower-fat milks, sugar-free and no-added sugar drinks. In the case of fruit juices and smoothies – it’s better to eat the whole fruit itself because we’re then getting the benefits of eating fibre, and the sugar in the fruit is absorbed more slowly in our bodies.
Sources: Diabetes UK, WHO