Facts on Food: Sugar

This food factsheet aims to help you understand what sugar is, and how it may impact your health if consumed too frequently and in excess.

This factsheet is intended to serve as informational purposes, provided by The Diverse Nutrition Association as a public service. This is not a substitute for regulated medical advice or diagnosis. In the instance that you require this, please consult the required medical professional. 

What is Sugar?

Fundamentally, sugar is a sweet-tasting simple carbohydrate, and there are different classifications in terms of chemical structures and names. Monosaccharides; including glucose, fructose (naturally occurring fruit sugars) and galactose are made up of one sugar molecule. Disaccharides; including sucrose (made up of glucose and fructose molecules), lactose and maltose, are made up of two sugar molecules. 

Sucrose (aka table sugar) is produced by plants during photosynthesis where plants use the sunlight to make sucrose from carbon dioxide and water. Sucrose is highly available in sugar cane and sugar beets, therefore being the most commercially viable source of sugar extraction.

What are Free Sugars?

Sugar (sucrose) is naturally present in fruits and vegetables, therefore are not considered free or added sugars. Sugars in the form of lactose that are found in milk are also naturally occurring and not considered free sugars. In addition to small amounts of sugar, fruits and vegetables contain various vitamins, minerals, water and fibre. Therefore, fruits are a healthy alternative to foods high in free sugars.

Free sugars are any types of sugars added to food or drinks, whether by the consumer when cooking, preparing food or at the table, or added by the manufacturer. This can include sugars in breakfast cereals, cooking sauces, curries, puddings, breads, beverages, cakes, juices, smoothies, sugar-sweetened yoghurts, chocolates, sweet spreads and biscuits.

Free sugars are not just limited to table sugar, they also found honey, coconut sugar, nectars, and syrups such as maple, date, treacle, golden and agave. 

The most up to date advice provided to the population from the Government’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) is to reduce free sugars in our diet, so as not to contribute to any more than 5% of one’s total daily energy consumption. This equates to no more than 30g of free sugars for children over the age of 11 years and adults, based on general population diets. 

Health Awareness & Cutting Down On Sugar:

Sugar in small quantities is usually fine, however when consumed in large quantities and frequently, sugar can detrimentally impact health. High-sugar foods which tend to be low in nutrient value and high in calories, may contribute to obesity and tooth decay.

Some tips for cutting down on free sugars include:

• Gradually reduce the amount of sugar added to baked goods, sauces, breakfast cereals, tea and coffee or switch to a sweetener such as stevia or xylitol

• Replace sugary fizzy drink and cordials with water or if occasionally drinking sugary cordial or squash, reduce the concentration or use no-added-sugar. If fizzy drinks are preferred, try adding no-added-sugar squash to carbonated water

• Limit unsweetened fruit juices and smoothies to no more than 150ml a day 

• Choose tinned fruits in their own juice instead of in syrup

• Familiarise yourself with food labels, choosing foods with reduced, lower or no added sugar. The higher up sugar is on an ingredients list, the more sugar that food product contains. Higher-sugar foods contain more than 22.5g of total sugars per 100g, whereas low-sugar foods contain less than 5g of total sugars per 100g. High-sugar drinks contain more than 11.25g of total sugars per 100ml, and a low-sugar drink contains less than 2.5g of total sugars per 100ml.

Summary:

Limited intakes of sugar will generally not be unhealthy within the diet, however frequent consumption of high-sugar foods and drinks within the diet can impact dental and general health and lead to low nutrient, yet high energy consumption, which is associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and weight gain.

Sources:

British Nutrition Foundation 2018, Let’s take another look at sugar [online]. Available at:https://www.nutrition.org.uk/nutritioninthenews/headlines/letstakeanotherlookatsugar.html [Accessed 2021, May].

NHS 2020, Sugar: the facts [online]. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/how-does-sugar-in-our-diet-affect-our-health/ [Accessed 2021, May].

Public Health England 2015, Why 5%? An explanation of SACN’s recommendations about sugars and health, Public Health England.

Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition 2015, Carbohydrates and Health [online]. Available at:http://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/445503/SACN_Carbohydrates_and_Health.pdf [Accessed 2021, May].

Swan, G.E., Powell, N.A., Knowles, B.L., Mark T Bush, M.T. & Levy, L.B. 2018, "A definition of free sugars for the UK", Public Health Nutr., vol. 21, no. 9, pp. 1636–1638.

World Health Organization 2015, Guideline: Sugars Intake for Adults and Children [online]. Available at: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/149782/1/9789241549028_eng.pdf?ua=1 [Accessed 2021, May].

©The Diverse Nutrition Association June 2021. Review date June 2023.