Sugar Is The New Tobacco Say Docs

Sugar used to be just for special occasions, but health experts are getting worried because we’re chowing down on this sweet stuff every day

You may have banned cigarettes and cut back on the booze, but doctors are now saying that that there could be another buy in your kitchen cupboards that could cause problems for your health – sugar. It’s not the teaspoons in the food that you know about, it’s the teaspoons of sugar that you don’t know about that could affect your waistband say the men in white coats.

To give some low-fat products extra taste manufacturers are adding sugar. The question is, do you know how much? Health experts want us to include only 5tsp of sugar in our diet daily, but we’re absorbing up to 44tsp of sugar with one drink.

Andrew Goddard of the Royal College of Physicians told The Times newspaper: “Sugar is a major factor in obesity and diabetes, and with many everyday foods, such as bread and breakfast cereals, containing high levels of added sugar, it can be difficult for consumers to make healthier choices.”

The new group Action On Sugar is hoping that will be able to encourage manufacturers to reduce the amount of sugar in products in a similar way to campaigners who had them reduce the amount of salt in products. So until manufacturers put the lids on their sugar jars, here are a few sugar-packed buys that might surprise you…

Cola (cinema serving)

A tub of popcorn and cup of cola is almost as essential as your ticket for a night at the cinema. But before you max your order, maybe you should know that a cinema-sized serving of cola could contain up to 44 teaspoons of sugar.

Tomato Sauce

Shop bought pasta sauces can often come packed with sugar to make them taste less acidic. One-third of a jar can contain over 3 teaspoons sugar. So do yourself a favour and make your own using fresh or canned tomatoes and a handful of herbs.

Enhanced Water

Your 500ml drink may have received a vitamin boost, but it’s also received a sugar boost too. A 500ml glass of enhanced water can contain up to 4 teaspoons of sugar, says Action On Sugar. If you want to flavour your water, and cut back on sugar, add slices of orange, lemon or cucumber to your water bottle.

Low-Fat Yogurt

It may be low in cals, but some yogurts are still packing those teaspoons of sugar.  Yeo Valley Family Farm 0% Fat Vanilla Yogurt (150g) was reported by the BBC to contain 5tsp sugar. That’s more than a 30g serving of Frosties, which comes in at 4tsp.

Tomato Soup

When you want a light lunch, a bowl of soup makes a great option. But bear in mind that a can of Heinz Classic Tomato Soup (300g) contains 4 tsp sugar. So before you think about popping more sugar in your mouth, remember you’ve had 80% per cent of your sugar intake for today already.