Research from the Diabetes Fund shows that people consume an average of 30 sugar cubes per day.
‘Hidden sugars’
The Diabetes Fund continues the fight against sugars. After the sugar detox clinic, they now publish data from research showing that people still do not realize how much sugar they consume and from which sources. The Diabetes Fund obtained this information from a study of 1200 people.
On average, people would consume about 30 sugar cubes per day. Twice as much as would be advisable. I don’t know what size sugar cubes they measured with, but assuming 4 grams per cube, it would amount to 120 grams of sugar per day.
An astounding 84% of people would struggle to limit this excess sugar intake, although three-quarters indicated that they had tried to do so. People mainly seek the solution themselves in reducing the amount of added sugar in products.
The agreements as they have been made between the government and industry are so limited that this does not sufficiently stimulate the development of products with less sugar. Manufacturers need to take more responsibility.’
Hanneke Dessing
The fund will start campaigning with Ekoplaza from today. In five ‘less sugar weeks,’ people will receive tips and recipes.
Don’t be surprised
Of course, I would applaud it if the food industry took more responsibility and reduced the amount of added sugars in products. Until then, however, you should take responsibility for what you consume daily.
The ‘hidden sugars’ are described as sugars in products that you wouldn’t immediately expect to contain sugar. So it’s wise not to guess what’s in your food but to check it. Sugars can appear under many names, but it’s worth recognizing them. Names like maltose, dextrose, glucose, and high fructose corn syrup. Anything ending in ‘-syrup’ can quickly be counted as sugars.
The easiest way to take this into account is by looking at the amount of carbohydrates, specifically under the heading ‘of which sugars.’ However, this doesn’t indicate whether these sugars have been added. Whether sugars have been added can be found under ingredients, and we hope to find fewer and fewer sugars here in the future. To complement this, I will also write a separate article today about the term “of which sugars” under carbohydrates in the nutrition facts table.
If you want to know if you’re consuming too many carbohydrates as a good starting point to assess your sugar intake, download the FITsociety App for iPhone or Android, where you can easily track and measure your diet.
