This post was developed in partnership with The Canadian Sugar Institute, however, as always, all opinions are genuine.
Sugar is all around us and as a registered dietitian I get asked a lot of questions about it. People always want to know “do I need to give up sugar? How much is too much?” or they ask “Is honey healthier than regular sugar? What about maple syrup?” In today’s blog post, we are taking a deep dive into all things sugar and clearing up some myths around the different types of sugars. And no, you do not need to “give up” sugar.
When we think of the word sugar, most often we think of desserts, chocolate, and cookies because these foods all have sugar in them. “Sugars” are a type of carbohydrate found in our diet. Other dietary carbohydrates are starches and fibre.
Different Types of Sugars
Sugars can be divided into two groups, naturally occurring sugars and added sugars.
Naturally occurring sugars are found in fruits and some vegetables (e.g. sweet peas, beets, and sweet potatoes) as well as milk and yogurt. Sugars are a source of energy and foods with naturally occurring sugars contain a variety of other nutrients as well, such as the calcium, vitamin D and magnesium we find in milk and the Vitamin C we find in oranges.
Added sugars refer to any type of sugar that is added to foods and there are many types including granulated sugar, brown sugar, icing sugar, maple syrup, honey, agave, corn syrup, and molasses. Added sugars are found in all the obvious things like desserts, pop, chocolate milk and sweetened yogurt but also things that are less obvious like some types of salad dressings and condiments. Added sugars are a source of energy and do not contain significant amounts of other nutrients and should be consumed in moderate quantities but more on that in a bit.
You may have also heard the term “free sugars,” this is a newer term and includes added sugars plus those found naturally in 100% fruit juice.
How much is too much?
The truth it that many of us eat too much added sugar and it adds up quickly.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that people limit the amount of free sugars they eat to less than 10% of their total daily energy (calorie) intake. For adults, this works out to about 12 teaspoons per day. While this may sound like a lot, it adds up fast. For example, a tall pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks has 38g of sugar or 9.5 teaspoons (some is naturally from the milk) and their pumpkin scone has 46g of sugar which is 11.5 teaspoons and almost a full days worth of added sugar. Other things like ketchup, barbecue sauce, and even some salad dressings contain a few teaspoons of added sugar per tablespoon so you can see how quickly it adds up.
These images show two days of eating. We eat differently each day and some days we may have more added sugar than others and that’s okay! If you are consistently having too much added sugar, consider areas you can cut down (ex. Reducing juice, lowering sugar in coffee, sweetening oatmeal with fruit instead of brown sugar).
In 2015 the WHO added an additional recommendation that reducing added sugar intake to below 5% of total energy intake (or 6 teaspoons per day for adults) would offer additional health benefits however they noted that they do not have strong evidence to support this recommendation and the studies they base this recommendation on are quite old (from the 1950s in Japan and the studies look at dental caries).
There are no consumption limits on naturally occurring sugars as there are no known adverse health effects from consuming them.
Sugar and Food Labels:
Reading food labels can help us make informed choices about the foods we buy for ourselves and our families but comparing products to see which have more/less of certain nutrients can be tricky especially when serving sizes are not consistent. Fortunately, changes are coming very soon!
In December 2016, Health Canada released changes to food labels for all packaged food and beverage products. Companies have until the end of this year to become compliant, but some labels may be changed before then. Some of the changes include making serving sizes more consistent so it is easier to compare similar foods and adjusting the serving sizes to make them more realistic to what Canadians typically eat as a portion.
There are also going to be changes to how sugars are shown on nutrition facts panels and on ingredient lists. A percent daily value, seen as % DV on labels is going to be added for sugars. Percent DV are meant to be a guide for consumers to help make informed choices; if a product has 5% of less of a nutrient, that is considered “a little” and if it has 15% of more, that is considered “a lot.” So, for example, if you were comparing jarred pasta sauce, you may want to compare sodium contents on the labels to see which had a lower %DV for sodium to help make a healthier choice.
The new % DV for sugars is based on 100g, which is close to the average level of consumption of total sugars (natural and added) in Canada (not a recommended level of intake). The amount of sugars on a label includes the naturally occurring and added sugar of a food product. So, for example, sugars on a vanilla yogurt label would include the naturally occurring sugar found in the milk as well as any sugar added for flavouring.
Ingredient lists are also changing so that sugars are all grouped together to make them easier to identify. Currently, food ingredients are all listed by weight in descending order, but the new regulations will have “sugars” followed by brackets with the different types listed. Weight will still be considered when determining where to place “sugars” on a label.
Many people are often interested in how much added sugar a food product has. Since the nutrition facts panel indicates total sugars, it is important to look at the ingredients list as well to determine if a food product is high or low in added sugar.
Are some types of sugars healthier than others?
Maple syrup, agave, and honey are often described as unrefined or healthier than regular sugar but is there any truth to this? While these sugars may have small amounts of nutrients or be digested a bit slower than other sugars, they all contain varying levels of sucrose, glucose and fructose and our body breaks all these sugars down the same way. When it comes to added sugar, most of us eat too much of it and changing from traditional granulated sugar to maple syrup or honey shouldn’t be thought of as a “healthier” choice. Reducing the amount of added sugar we eat and focusing on including lots of nutrient dense foods in our diet like fruits and vegetables, fish, and plant-based proteins is a far better option. This doesn’t mean that we need to eliminate sugar but rather pick the foods you enjoy the most and savour every bite! Are there some areas of your diet you can reduce the amount of sugar you eat? Maybe it is eliminating sugar in your coffee or tea? We can gradually adapt our taste buds to reducing sugar.
Bottom line:
Many foods that contain added sugar are meant to be enjoyed. Choose the foods you like the most and eat them mindfully. Take the time to enjoy. I would never want to give up cake on my birthday, apple pie at Thanksgiving or going for ice-cream in the summer with my family. All foods can fit within a healthy diet. Food is about so much more than the nutrients it contains, and eating should be a pleasurable experience. Celebrating occasions with family and friends over good food is one of the greatest joys of life.
References:
Government of Canada. Retrieved October 5, 2021. Food labelling changes – Canada.ca
Carbohydrate and Sugars Terminology – The Canadian Sugar Institute
World Health Organization WHO calls on countries to reduce sugars intake among adults and children
