Key takeaways
- A diet high in sugar can increase body weight and therefore cancer risk
- Fruits, vegetables and wholegrains contain sugar, and these foods are an important part of a healthy, balanced diet
- It’s easy to consume too much sugar in fizzy drinks, sweets, biscuits and other sweetened foods, so it’s important to be mindful of how much and how often we have these
- Reducing our sugar intake slowly by making switches, and choosing healthier products is a great first step
While a small amount of sugar can contribute to our enjoyment of food, too much added sugar can lead to weight gain, which increases cancer risk. It’s not necessary to eliminate sugar completely, but it’s important to consume it mindfully, and to learn to savour sweetness where we do have it. In this article, Perci dietitian Rachel White explains why sugar isn’t necessarily bad, and offers practical advice for reducing sugar intake, from substituting sugar for healthier alternatives, to learning how to understand food labels and make low-sugar choices.
Is sugar bad for our health?
Not necessarily. Sugar occurs naturally in carbohydrates like fruits, vegetables and even wholegrains. These foods are important for our health as they give us energy and provide us with vitamins, minerals and fibre, which helps protect against bowel cancer. They are an important part of a healthy, balanced diet.
However, sugar is also added to things like fizzy drinks, sweets, chocolate, cakes and biscuits to make them sweeter or more palatable. This kind of sugar isn’t beneficial for our health. It’s easy to over-consume and can contribute to weight gain, which increases cancer risk. While a little sugar is okay, it’s important to be mindful of how much of it we are eating or drinking, and how frequently.
How to eat less sugar by reducing and substituting
- Start by identifying the biggest sources of sugar in your diet. Instead of cutting it out completely, reduce it slowly so your taste buds can get used to the change. Replace sugar in teas and coffees with a sweetener, then remove that in due course, or cut down the amount of sugar a little each day.
- If much of the sugar in your diet is coming from snacks, consider why you need these. More balanced meals can keep you feeling full and satisfied for longer, meaning you could eliminate high-sugar snacks or replace them with healthy alternatives, like crackers and dip instead of biscuits.
- Consider switching out some of the sugar in your cooking and baking with fruit, and milk chocolate with dark chocolate, which is lower in sugar. The great thing about dark chocolate is that it’s still enjoyable but you’re less likely to eat a lot of it.
- It can be helpful to know that while sugar alternatives like coconut sugar, agave and maple syrup may have a small additional health benefit, they contain the same glucose molecule as table sugar, so we would not recommend switching to these sources. .
How to eat less sugar by decoding food labels
- When choosing foods to buy, always look at the labels. In particular, look for a column labelled ‘Carbohydrates (of which sugars)’. This column gives you the amount of sugar per 100g, and can help you compare products. Less than 5g of sugar per 100g means the product is low in sugar. 5–22.5g is a medium amount of sugar and above 22.5g is high.
- Remember that sugar might not always be labelled clearly in an ingredients list. Cane sugar, glucose syrup, sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, barley malt, dextrose, maltose and rice syrup are all forms of sugar.
- Look out for hidden sugars. While products like yoghurts often have health claims, fruit varieties in particular often have added sugar. Again, look at the label. If you find hidden sugar, consider buying an unsweetened natural yoghurt and adding your own fresh fruit.
- Be wary of low fat products. Manufacturers often replace the fat in products with sugar, to improve the taste and mouthfeel, and these aren’t always as healthy as they seem.
Perci’s cancer nurse specialists are knowledgeable about cancer risk and can refer you to a dietitian to support you in making risk-reducing changes to your diet.
While we have ensured that every article is medically reviewed and approved, information presented here is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any questions or concerns, please talk to one of our healthcare professionals or your primary healthcare team.