You’d probably be frustrated if you went to the cinema to watch a film and found there were lots more trailers than you were expecting. Not just at the beginning, but slotted throughout the entire film, popping up every time things got to a crucial moment. And imagine if they were not even trailers for things you’re remotely interested in! You’d probably be annoyed because the film was not what you’d paid or signed up for.

Sometimes it’s a little bit like that with our food. If only the foods that had sugar in them were those obviously ‘sugary’ foods, it would be much easier to make healthy choices. But the truth is that sugar is in pretty much everything, unless you cook completely from scratch.

I encourage cooking for yourself as much as possible, and if we could eat mainly whole, unprocessed foods, we’d be fine. But the minute you go for packaged and tinned foods, even if you think they are healthy, there’s probably some sugar in them.

It’s recommended that as adults we eat a maximum of 30g of (free) sugar a day: roughly 7 cubes or teaspoons.

Free sugars are sugars that are not inside the cells of the food that we eat.

If we have too much sugar, it can have a big negative impact on our teeth, weight, energy, and blood sugar levels. It can lead to diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.

So, it’s important that we keep our sugar intake under control.

This email highlights some unexpected hidden sugars and gives you some simple tips for managing the amount of sugar you eat.

Recently as I’ve been out and about, and preparing food to eat with family and friends, I’ve been surprised at the things that have some or lots of sugar in them:

• Low-sugar granola, as the name suggests, has some sugar in it, but I was surprised how much.
• Mango chutney, as you might also expect, has sugar in it, but I was still shocked that sugar was the first ingredient on the list.
• Crisps have lots of sugar in them; Monster Munch has sugar in them as do the plainer flavours. And even the ‘healthier’ crisps and snacks (have you tried the pea crisps from Lidl or Aldi?) have some sugar in them.
• Ketchup has more sugar than ice cream!
• Oven chips – who knew oven chips would have sugar in them?
• Shop-bought sushi, those little packs you get as part of a meal deal – contain sugar.
• A shop-bought falafel and green leaf salad had sugar in it.
• Stir-through pasta sauces have sugar in them.
• Flavoured yogurts have added sugar in them.
• Some mayonnaise has sugar in it.
• And most packaged bread contans sugar too.

And then of course there’s usual chocolate, biscuits, sweets, and ice cream, as you would expect.

So, it gets quite tricky to stay within that 7-teaspoon daily limit if you’re eating things that haven’t been created from scratch.

So, what kinds of things can you do to ensure you eat less sugar?

Check the labels

As the list above highlights, sugar is not just in things you expect to be sugary, it’s also snuck into many different foods. It can help to check the packets that you haven’t checked for a while, read the labels, and educate yourself. That way, you can be more aware of the sugar that you are putting into your body and make choices about what you are eating.

Know the many names for sugar

It can be confusing because sugar isn’t always called ‘sugar’ on food labels. Other names for sugar are:

• high fructose corn syrup,
• cane sugar or cane juice,
• fructose,
• maltose,
• dextrose,
• invert sugar,
• rice syrup,
• molasses,
• caramel

You might be asking: “What about fructose in fruit?” These are natural sugars found in fruits, which are not in the same category as the processed sugars in the list above. They come with a lot of other benefits!

When fructose is taken out of fruit and intensified and put back into foods that can cause problems.

Fruit sugars eaten in whole fruits come with fibre, nutrients, and vitamins, and they are good for you.

De-sugar your breakfast: 

If you’re in the habit of having some sugary cereals for breakfast (bear in mind the cereals you might not think are sugary, like cornflakes or bran flakes have sugar in them, and some of them quite a lot!) you might consider having something like oats instead.

Or you could make your own sugar-free granola or muesli and add some sweetness by adding fruit. 

Alternatively, you could have plain yogurt, eggs, avocado, or whole grain toast. The key is to start your day on a good note, so your blood sugar doesn’t spike after your first meal. If it does rise after breakfast, you may then struggle all day with peaks troughs, and needing to eat more sugar to try and keep you on an even keel.

Navigating sugar is challenging and tricky! We’re absolutely surrounded by it everywhere.

But these tips will help you keep your sugar intake under control.

At Fitfish, we believe in choice and that all food can serve a healthy purpose, whether that’s for nutrition, for energy, for replenishment, or for enjoyment. I cover tactics for building healthier habits around food in the Healthy, Whole & Free Course. Why don’t you come and join us this summer?