Auckland - Slimmers turning to low-fat foods could be piling on the kilos.
Nutritionists warn that while most people are aware that fruit juice, cereals and salad dressings can contain large amounts of sugar, many are less conscious of sugar levels in low-fat foods.
“Eliminating sugar from your diet completely is almost impossible because sugar is hidden in everything,” said nutritionist Angela Frieswyk.
“One thing people commonly forget about is yoghurt. In a standard pot of yoghurt there are 25 to 27g of sugar and a teaspoon of sugar is 5g so that’s about five to six teaspoons of sugar in one serve.”
She advised people to check food labels and not eat anything that had sugar in its first four ingredients. And keep in mind that sugar can be disguised by different names, such as sucrose, corn syrup, fructose and glucose.
“Sugar is an empty calorie and it doesn’t provide nutrition to sustain you for long.
“Foods with low GI (glycaemic index) are slow-release energy and will not immediately lift you up but are more sustaining and make you feel more alert for longer, a lot fuller for longer and ultimately more satisfied,” she said.
Dietitian Fiona Boyle said it was important to distinguish between natural and refined sugars and limit the latter.
When too much sugar was consumed, it was added as extra calories and could lead to weight gain and increased blood sugar.
And when high amounts of sugar were consumed regularly, people could become addicted to the high, Boyle said. “That’s when things can get out of balance – when they choose sweet options at the expense of other foods.”
Dentist Alastair Miller said sugary food, particularly fizzy drinks, were causing increasing incidence of tooth decay. Energy drinks were particularly bad as they had a high acid content which stripped teeth of protective enamel.
However, dietician Rachel Scrivin said sugar was still an important part of a healthy, balanced diet. Endurance athletes need sugar to give them an energy hit but the average person doesn’t need the same amount, and if they did ate more than they needed, it would be stored as extra calories.
Some people tried to make good choices but the foods they thought were healthy were not. Foods that caught people out included sushi (high in sugar and salt), fruit drinks, smoothies, sports drinks and cereals. – New Zealand Herald