Sugar

SatNavSaysStraightOn

SatNavSaysStraightOn

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I'm sitting on a service station at the moment. Fed up of coffee and with my body saying it wanted fresh orange juice, I picked up a new 'super by Innocent. It hit the spot in terms of what I wanted, in all aspects but one. And I know that the sugars in it all natural from fruit and all that but all I can say is yikes! Next time I'll have a Fanta... I think it has less sugar in it!

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Jeez that's a lot of sugar. I've read somewhere that sugar is the primary reason why obesity rates and diabetes cases (obviously) are going up. In less than 200 years the average human being has gained over 1/3 more of it's mass than our predecessors in past civilizations. The advent of fast food, supermarkets and stores has made it easy for us to enjoy food anywhere easily.
 
Wow that is surprising! That is a lot of sugar! People consume so much sugars and add calories and they have no idea why. Who would have that that fresh orange juice would have so much sugar in it!
 
Well that's about right for natural orange juice - or possibly a bit higher. I never touch fruit juice for that reason (except for Cranberry light sugar-free which has artificial sweetener added).

500ml Orange juice: 51g sugar. This is equivalent to the sugar in 13 McVities Hobnobs and about the same as Fanta or Coke.
 
Smoothies in general are very calorific unless they are made with low calorie vegetables. Fruit smoothies are marketed as healthy drinks and there has been a growing trend for them in the last ten years or so. Personally I never go near them (unless I'm experimenting for the Cookingbite's Recipe Challenge!). People are mindlessly downing huge glasses of calorific sugar laden smoothies for breakfast or as 'snacks' without realising the hidden sugar and calories. That's my rant for the day...
 
The worrying thing is that there is no added sugar in this product. All of that sugar is from the fruit itself! The problem is that it is seen as healthy because it had no added sugar and it's a smoothie yet that amount of sugar (49g in 360ml of juice) is twice the WHO recommended amount of sugar for an adult per day. 49g being nearly 2oz or 12 tsp of sugar for those on old fashioned money!
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
The worrying thing is that there is no added sugar in this product. All of that sugar is from the fruit itself! The problem is that it is seen as healthy because it had no added sugar and it's a smoothie yet that amount of sugar (49g in 360ml of juice) is twice the WHO recommended amount of sugar for an adult per day. 49g being nearly 2oz or 12 tsp of sugar for those on old fashioned money!
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Well that's the thing. Smoothies use a lot of fruit in one drink, thus the increased sugar and calories.
However, even simple fruit juice contains a lot of sugar (typically around 6 tsps of sugar for a 200ml serving). The NHS advises that fruit juice, restricted to a 150ml serving, should only make up one of the recommended five daily portion!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/hea...moothies-contain-horrifying-sugar-levels.html
 
Its shocking how much sugar is in fruit juices....and so many people just aren't aware - they think because its natural that it must be good for them and don't know that nutritionally there's no difference between "natural" sugars eg. from fruit and sugar you buy in a bag.

Another thing that surprised me when I learned it, is how much sugar there is in many low calorie or diet foods - they remove the fat to reduce the calories but then add extra sugar to improve the taste and texture. So again, people think they are making a healthier choice, when in fact they may not be.
 
People think they are eating healthier when in fact they are not often when they need to reduce the sugar intake. I think it is a matter of which is more important the person to reduce the intake of sugar or to reduce the fat and sodium content of the food. For me I have to be more concerned with the sodium than I do the sugar. I do reduce the amount of sugar I consume but I stay completely away from food that has a high amount of sodium. The sodium causes me to swell up, joints hurt and a headache.
 
I usually buy the reduced sugar juices. Even though juices have a lot of vitamin C and can be useful in stroke prevention, I am not sure all the sugars are worth it. I must admit though I bought orange juice this past week because you got 1.50 off a dozen eggs for buying a carton of orange juice..can't really turn that one down!
 
Diabetes runs rampant in my family. Because I'm getting older and I'm overweight, I'm very careful about my sugar intake. I drink smoothies, but I make my own. Really, I think it's kind of hard to overdo the sugar if you make it yourself. It may sound silly, but seriously- if you're watching yourself throw an apple into the Blendtec, you're aware that you just... threw an apple into the Blendtec. When you buy a bottle of juice or get a smoothie somewhere, you're not really conscious of how much you've got. I always think about how much I'd eat in a meal when I make my smoothies and I use more veggies than fruit. Spinach and zucchini are great veggies to add to get you full, but to not overwhelm the sweetness of your fruit.
 
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