Most of us are aware that sweet stuff should be eaten in moderation. According to BBCiWonder, some food and drinks contain a surprising amount of sugar, which means you could be consuming far much more than you should.
Why is Sugar Included in Food?
Because of this, many foods we think of as wholesome – like yoghurt, low-fat snacks, diet soft drinks and fruit-flavoured water – may actually contain much more sugar than you think
Like salt, these so called added sugar help extend the shelf life of foods like bread, breakfast cereals, canned fruit and vegetables. This can result in you eating more sugar than your body can handle – because you don’t always know what you are eating.
If you consume more sugar than you need, your liver converts the excess into fat, and some of this fat is stored around the body. It is this conversion process that makes the eating of excessive amounts of sugar a major contributory factor to weight gain, and even obesity. If the resulting situation continues, it increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and liver disease.
Food manufacturers are not required by law to separate added sugars from naturally occurring sugars on a nutrition label, but you can find out how much total sugar is in a product by looking for the carbohydrates (of which sugars) figure.
More than 15g of total sugars per 100g means it has a high sugar content, 5g of total sugars or less per 100g means it has a low sugar content.
With these, your sugar consumption level will at the very least be under your thumb.
