Sugar.
Undeniably 2013 has been the year of quitting the stuff. With critics saying it is toxic and poisonous.
Other professionals leapt to its defense saying it was merely an empty nutrient but not the evil substance it had been made out to be.
Just the mention of it gets the nutrition wars firing.
But it seems there is more to come with reports of a proposed radical overhaul of worldwide recommended levels.
The UK’s Sunday Times has reported that a confidential draft paper by the World Health Organisation states there should be a “reduction of free sugars intake to 5 per cent or less of total energy”.
What this means is that experts are recommending you cut your daily intake by half so that no more than 5 teaspoons of sugar is consumed in a day – a proposal that means many food companies may have to change their products to lower their sugar content.
Free sugars are defined by the WHO as all sugars “added to foods by the manufacturer, cook, or consumer, plus sugars naturally present in honey, syrups and fruit juices”.
The current worldwide recommended level is that people should get no more than 10 per cent of their calories from sugar- that is about 10 teaspoons of sugar a day.
A diet yoghurt contains about 6 teaspoons of sugar, a mars bar contains more than 10 teaspoons and a 600ml bottle of soft drink has over 16 teaspoons.
That means even your average diet yoghurt would contain more sugar than the WHO recommendations.
In Australia the dietary guidelines were updated earlier this year for the first time and included advice to limit added sugar.
The government recommendations here do not specify a daily limit for carbohydrate, sugar or added sugar intake.
The Australian Food and Grocery Council, which represent the nation’s $110 billion food, drink and grocery manufacturing industry, argued against limiting added sugar in our guidelines.
Top Comments
Interesting they mentioned Coco Pops - my daughters (aged 6 & 4) requested them recently when we were on holiday (previously our holiday treat breakfast cereal was cornflakes...). I agreed as it was 'holiday' not every day. They both tried them and didn't like them - we went to buy something else (relatively sugar free) the next day. Sometimes demonising a food makes it desirable - but kids (and adults too) will listen to their taste buds if we let them
What about raw sugar vs white? I only use raw in my coffee