Sugar in your diet: amounts and reading the label

Plain yoghurt, juice and honey stand on the table. All three contain sugars, but that does not mean their composition is identical or that they need the same restrictions. Confusion begins with the word “sugar”: it describes both the white granules in the sugar bowl and a whole group of substances in very different foods.

Distinguishing a few terms helps with everyday choices. It lets you reduce excess without becoming afraid of fruit, milk or a piece of celebration cake.

Total sugars means all sugars in a product. Added sugars are introduced during manufacturing or preparation: into sweetened yoghurt or tea, for example. Free sugars is a broader term: it includes added sugars and those in honey, syrups, fruit juices and concentrates.

Sugars in whole fruit and naturally occurring lactose in milk are not free sugars. That is why advice to reduce free sugars cannot become a ban on apples or plain dairy products. Food contains other substances as well as sugars and has different structures.

WHO advises keeping free sugars below 10% of daily energy; reducing them further to 5% may offer additional benefits. In a hypothetical 2,000 kcal diet, this means less than 50 g and approximately 25 g respectively. The example illustrates the scale, rather than assigning everyone the same energy needs. WHO recommendations on a healthy diet.

This is not an allowance of spoonfuls to add on top of all other foods. The total includes drinks, sauces, desserts, honey and other sources of free sugars. Nor is it a requirement to check yourself to the nearest gram every evening.

A whole apple needs chewing and has structure and fibre. A glass of juice is quicker to drink and may take several pieces of fruit to make. “No added sugar” does not change the fact that juice sugars count as free sugars.

You may enjoy juice and include it in your menu, but it should not automatically replace water or all whole fruit. If the habit starts with a large glass at breakfast and continues with drinks throughout the day, this is often a convenient place for the first change.

In a nutrition table, this line usually shows total sugars rather than added sugars alone. Sugars in plain yoghurt may therefore be naturally occurring lactose. To see whether sugar or syrup was added, you also need the ingredients list.

Compare similar products per 100 g or 100 ml, then assess your portion. If a drink has 10 g of sugars per 100 ml, a 500 ml bottle contains 50 g. This hypothetical arithmetic example shows why a small number in a table may mean a substantial amount in the whole pack.

Sugar, sucrose, glucose, fructose, molasses, various syrups and honey can all be ingredients in a sweet product. An expensive or “natural” origin does not make a sweetener uncountable. Honey and syrup need not be demonised, but there is no reason to leave them out of the overall picture either.

“No added sugar” also tells you little about the full ingredients, calories or amounts of salt and fat. Read the whole pack. NHS on names for sugar and gradual reduction.

Start with what recurs most often: sweet coffee, a drink with lunch or a large portion of packaged cereal. You could choose less, add syrup less often, mix sweetened cereal with plain cereal or alternate your usual drink with water. You do not have to remove every favourite taste in one day.

If you particularly want something sweet after a long day without food, look at lunch as well as dessert. Regular, adequate meals help you make decisions in a calmer state. One person may need to reconsider drink quantities; another lacks an accessible dinner. The solutions will differ.

Dessert can have a place in an ordinary varied diet. Eating it attentively when you genuinely want it is more workable than constantly dividing days into “good” and “ruined.” One portion does not describe someone’s whole diet.

Still, the absence of a ban does not make quantity and frequency irrelevant. If sweet foods regularly displace main meals or thoughts about them take up a lot of energy, calmly examine your routine and relationship with food. One observation is not a reason to label it an addiction automatically.

Recall yesterday’s drinks and three products you buy often. Check the ingredients and actual portion, then choose one manageable change. Allow a week to see whether it works for you. For the separate question of sweet foods during a cold, read the article about sugar and infections.

For three days, notice just one repeated situation: a sweet drink on the way home, for instance. Write down when you last ate, whether you were thirsty or tired, and what you enjoy about this stop. Then choose one change you are curious to try. Perhaps a smaller cup would help; perhaps lunch or a quiet break is missing first. You can pay attention to something you like without immediately crossing it out.

In the MriyaRun “Conversation with Yourself” body journal, you can record these episodes: the event, bodily sensations, feelings and a need. After a difficult meeting, you might want food and quiet at the same time. Writing offers a chance to address both needs rather than judge yourself only by how many sweet foods you ate.