Say "No" To Extra Sugar

To many people 'sugar' is the refined sugar that we buy in supermarkets or the unrefined brown variety. In dietary terms, however, 'sugar' refers to all forms of calorific sweeteners - white sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, jaggery, palm sugar, honey and syrups.

Sugar is a carbohydrate that provides energy. Carbohydrates can be divided into three groups - starches, sugars and cellulose. Starches and cellulose are more complex. As our body can change starchy food like, rice, bread or potato into sugar (glucose) for energy, we do not really need any extra sugar. Too much sweet eating can result in tooth decay. Frequent snacks of sticky candy, or dates, or over consumption of soft drinks may be more harmful than adding sugar to your morning coffee.

Cutting back on added sugars is a good way to reduce calories without reducing nutrients. Too much sugar can lead to diabetes, obesity and heart diseases.

How to read the sugar label: Very often labels provide a clue to the amount of sugars in a food product. Sugars are also known as sucrose, glucose, maltose, fructose, sorbital, etc.

Sucrose is the white or brown sugar we add to our coffee or tea. It is a natural product from sugar cane.
Fructose is from fruit and honey.
Lactose is the sugar in milk and is less sweet than other sugars.

Ingredients listed on labels are in the order of greatest to least in terms of weight. If sugar is listed among the first three ingredients or if several sugars are listed on the label, the product is probably high in sugar.

Here's how you can cut down on your sugar intake

Always opt for unsweetened processed foods such as soya bean milk and fruit juices.
Have fresh fruits or fruits canned in light syrup rather than those canned in heavy syrup.
Consume less sugar-rich food such as cakes, soft drinks and sweet desserts.
Add less sugar to your coffee, tea or other drinks
Get used to using half as much; then see if you can cut back even more.
Cut down on sweetened beverages like soft drinks.
Drink more water, skim or low fat milk and unsweetened fruit juice