Even food you think is healthy often contains high levels of sugar relative to what your daily intake should be. We highlight the culprits and give you some tasty sugar-free swaps.
How much is too much?
The World Health Organization (or WHO) recommends a free sugar intake of no more than 10% of your daily calorie intake. For an adult with a body mass index of 20 to 25, that works out to about 12 teaspoons — or 50g — of sugar per day. One teaspoon of sugar is about 4g, so that’s just over 12 teaspoons of sugar.
The WHO guideline includes added sugar and natural sugars present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates, but excludes natural sugars in fresh fruits, vegetables and milk.
A “healthy” day’s menu that’s actually packed with sugar
If you ate bran flakes plus fruit juice for breakfast, soup at lunch, a mid-afternoon muesli bar, pasta in a tomato-based sauce and a yoghurt for supper, you may feel you had a healthy day. But you could have eaten an incredible 26 teaspoons of added sugar, double the recommended amount!
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| 40g bran flakes
1 teaspoon sugar |
1 glass orange juice
6.5 teaspoons sugar |
400g bowl tinned soup
4 teaspoons sugar |
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| Muesli bar
8 teaspoons of sugar |
Tomato-based sauce
2.5 teaspoons of sugar (per half jar of pasta sauce) |
175g flavoured yoghurt
4 teaspoons of sugar
|
Stealth sugar
These every day staples in most of our kitchens contain the following amounts of sugar:
- Canned corn just under half a teaspoon per 100g
- Tomato sauce just under one teaspoon per tablespoon
- Baked beans one teaspoon per can
- Savoury crackers just over one teaspoon per 100g
- Fruit-flavoured yoghurt drink about 10 teaspoons per 300ml bottle
Smart sugar swaps
Nutritionist Mayuri Bhawan has identified four surprisingly high-sugar foods as well as some healthy replacements with less sugar to help keep you on the right track.
SWAP |
FOR |
| Bran flakes – 1 teaspoon, or 5g, of sugar in a 40g serving | Oats – these generally contain 0,2g of sugar per 100g serving |
| Pasta sauce with a tomato base – up to six teaspoons of sugar in a jar | Make your own – or try Ina Paarman’s pasta sauces, which have 0,2g of sugar per 100g |
| Flavoured low fat yoghurt – around four teaspoons per 175g tub | Fat-free Bulgarian yoghurt – only contains 1 teaspoon of sugar per 100g, and has the thick, creamy texture of full-cream yoghurt |
| Sparkling flavoured water – around five teaspoons of sugar per 500ml bottle (the same as a 330ml can of Coke) | Sparkling water – Add your own squeeze of fresh lemon, lime or orange for a fruity taste. |
Test your sugar knowledge with our quiz.
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DISCLAIMER: Before starting any diet, you should speak to your doctor. You must not rely on the information on this website/newsletter as an alternative to medical advice from your doctor or other professional healthcare provider
