It’s a clever advertising statement isn’t it ‘No Added Sugar’, ‘Sugar Free’ or ‘50% Less Sugar’. You would assume from reading those claims that you were about to purchase a healthier product that was better for you. Sadly in most cases you would be wrong.
There has been a lot of pressure on food manufacturing companies to use less sugar in their products… There’s even been a threat of a sugar tax! So companies have started to respond and lower the level in products like cereals, biscuits, sauces, beans, yogurts and fizzy drinks.
HOWEVER…
…It’s not in food manufacturers best interest to alter the taste of their products, so how can they prevent this if they’re removing a large portion of sugar?
They simply remove the sugar and replace it with another one with a different name like Sucralose, dextrose, fructose, cellulose, sucrose, maltose…. basically anything ending ‘ose’. There are also other sugars or artificial sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup, sorbitol, xylitol, Isomalt, mannitol, aspartame, saccharin, Acesulfame-K and cyclamate.
When an ingredient is listed on a product, it is done so in order of quantity. Be cautious of what is listed in the first 3 as this will give you a clear indication whether the product is healthy or not. If any of the above are, or even worse the first 3 are all a type of sugar, then avoid at all costs.
Cancer research UK are launching Sugar Free February why not sign up and give yourself a challenge this month? 28 days of no sugar!
