NCD Watch

The Bitter Truth about Sugars

18 Sep 2015 (Fri)

To make foods more palatable, sugars are widely used as sweeteners. Other than flavouring, sugars also act as preservatives and bulking agents. So very often they are added to manufactured foods (including confectioneries, cakes, biscuits, jams and other preserves, ready-to-eat desserts and breakfast cereals) and beverages (especially carbonated or soft drinks and fruit juices) at various amounts during preparation and processing. Sugars are insidiously added in canned products (such as canned soup), savoury processed foods (such as bread and pickles), sauces and condiments (such as barbecue sauce, plum sauce, sweet chilli sauce and hoisin sauce).

However, sugars may not be so sweet when it comes to its effects on human health. Beyond adding non-nutritive energies, excessive sugar consumption can lead to obesity, insulin resistance and diabetes, as well as cardiovascular diseases and dental caries.

In fact, there is no dietary requirement for sugars. The World Health Organization (WHO) strongly recommends a reduced intake of free sugars throughout the life-course. Adults and children should limit free sugars intake to less than 10% of total energy each day. Free sugars include mono-saccharides (glucose, fructose, galactose) and disaccharides (maltose, sucrose, lactose) added to foods and beverages by the manufacturers, cook or consumer, and sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates.

For optimal health, members of the public should also be proactive in decreasing sugar consumption. The followings are some tips that can help cutting back on free sugars -

• Avoid adding extra sugars to foods and beverages, and reduce the amount of sugars used in recipes. Cook with fresh, dried fruits or vegetables with sweeter taste (e.g. chestnut and pumpkin) to increase the sweetness of dishes. Use sauces made with fresh ingredients (such as tomatoes) to replace ready-made sauces (such as ketchup);
• Drink water instead of carbonated drinks and other sugary beverages;
• Choose fruits over fruit juice or fruit drinks. Eat fresh fruits or dried fruits without added sugars (such as raisins and dried apricots) and vegetables (such as corn kernels, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, cucumbers and celeries) to replace sweets (such as candies, chocolates, cookies and ice-cream) as refreshments;
• Serve bread with low-fat cheese and fresh vegetables (such as lettuces, tomatoes and cucumbers) instead of sugared spreads (such as jam, peanut butter and nutella) and condensed milk;
• Check nutrition labels when shopping for pre-packaged foods and beverages, and select products with lower sugars content;
• Choose low sugar menu items or "3 Less" dishes when eating out. Look up for food premises which have joined the "EatSmart@restaurant. hk" campaign or the "Reduce Salt, Sugar, Oil. We Do!" programme;
• Request to serve syrups/sugars with the foods or beverages separately or ask for a "less sweet option".