Sugar Free Food Labelling

sugar

If you’re looking at reducing the amount of sugar in your diet, you need to be aware of what the labelling means. Here’s a quick summary.

In Australia, the Code of Practice on Nutrient Claims in Food (CoPoNC) sets out the provisions for “low”, “free”, and  “no sugar” claims as:

Sugar Free, No Sugar, Zero Sugar

Foods must contain less than 0.2grams of sugars per 100 grams of edible portion of the food Liquids must contain less than 0.1grams for 100 grams of edible portion

The policy of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission however has a zero tolerance policy in relation to the term “free”. So technically, foods which are labelled “sugar free” and include the small tolerance level of sugar allowed for under the CoPoNC, are in breach of fair trading laws.

No Added Sugar

Foods must not have sugar or sugar containing ingredients added to them. This means that sugars  including dextrose, fructose, sucrose, lactose, starch hydrolysate, glucose syrups, maltodextrin and similar products, icing sugar, invert sugar, fruit sugar syrup, honey, malt, malt extract or maltose products, or products derived at a sugar refinery including brown sugar and molasses is NOT added to the food during processing.

“No added sugar” foods can still contain high amounts of natural sugars. Normally, “no added sugar” foods have a low Glycemic Index, which means they don’t cause a rapid spike in blood sugar.

Low in Sugar

Foods must contain no more than 5g total sugars per 100grams of edible portion. Liquids must contain no more than 2.5grams per 100 grams of edible portion.

Sweet Poison Challenge

sugar

60 Minutes ran a piece last Sunday night about the “controversial new research” surrounding sugar. Basically, it indicated that sugar is the route of all dietary evil and quitting sugar would fix most of your health problems. Have a look at the footage or read the transcript here.

The research the report referred to is that done by Dr Robert Lustig  a Pediatric Endocrinologist. It is hardly “new” however as his lecture “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” was posted on YouTube in July 2009 – nearly three years ago. Not a big deal, I know, but little things like that do tend to get me thinking about what else might be being sensationalised by 60 minutes this time!

The report gives the impression that sugar is bad, and pretty much everything else is okay, as far as healthy eating goes, which is so patently NOT TRUE it makes my blood boil.

Too much of ANYTHING is not good for you. As Jennie Brand-Miller (the glycemic index pioneer) puts it, demonising sugar and concentrating too heavily on its evils gives the message that it’s okay to eat whatever else you like as long as it doesn’t have sugar in it. We run the risk of ignoring the health effects of overdosing on other macronutrients such as fats (especially trans fats) and protein.  She suggests a moderate intake of sugar of up to 10 teaspoons per day is fine. That 10 teaspoons per day includes all sources of dietary sugar – ie the pure white stuff you add to your coffee, as well as the hidden stuff in processed foods, fruit juice etc.

Also interesting was the brain scan which indicated sugar has the same addictive qualities as some drugs, which would kind of explain why we keep eating the stuff when we know it isn’t good for us.

Lustig’s lecture“Sugar: The Bitter Truth”  is well worth listening to, but make sure you have a sugar hit, or at least a cup of coffee handy, as it runs for 90 minutes. It can be found here . He is certainly entertaining, and certainly leaves some of my old uni lecturers for dead, but his use of emotive and headline grabbing language such as referring to sugar as “toxic” and “poison” shouldn’t get in the way of critically evaluating what he says.

David Gillespie is another anti-sugar campaigner.  He  was prompted to sing the praises of a sugar free diet by his own weight loss as a result of cutting sugar out of his diet. See an extensive interview with David Gillespie here   and the Nutrition Australia position statement in response to Gillespie’s book Sweet Poison here.

 

So, what’s the bottom line?

  • Yes, too much sugar is bad for you.
  • Yes, massive intakes of soft drink will cause you to gain weight
  • Yes, fruit juice does contain heaps of sugar and should be regarded as a treat, not an everyday healthy food
  • Yes, fruit should be limited to 2-3 serves per day, depending on your overall energy requirements
  • Yes, sugar can be addictive
  • No, sugar is not the only reason we get fat.

 

The Challenge

Will cutting sugar out of your diet make you feel better? Start cutting down on sugar over the next week or so, and put your hand up below if you’re willing to go sugar free for 4 weeks, starting on Monday 25th June. I am.

Fun Run Nutrition: Raisins vs Chews and Gels

 

 

Raisins are a cheap natural source of carbohydrates which have been found to be as effective as carbohydrate chews in producing a workout boost.

 

 

Researchers from California-Davis University have found raisins to be as effective as sports chews when athletes’ performances were tested in a 5km time trial which was conducted 2 days after a 2 hour run during which they consumed either raisins or sports chews. When just water was consumed during the 2 hour run, the athletes did not perform as well in the time trial 2 days later. The trial included only 11 athletes so it was a fairly small sample, but it’s certainly food for thought (pardon the pun).

 

This table shows you the nutritional breakdown of a couple of gels and chews, and raisins. Note the raisins do have some dietary fibre so could cause some GIT upset, but then gels and chews can have the same effect with some people.

GU ROCTANE GEL (one serve=1 sachet) GU ENERGY GEL(one serve= on sachet) GU CHOMPS (one serve = 4 pieces -1/2 a sachet) RAISINS (one serve = 35 gms-about what you can hold in the palm of your hand)
Weight 32gms 32 gms 30 gms 35 gms
Calories 100 100 90 100
Total Carbohydrate 25gms 20 gms 23gms 25 gms
Fat 0 2gms 0 0.3 gms
Sugars 5gms 6gms 11gms 24 gms
Sodium 125gms 40 gms 50 gms 20 gms
Potasium 55gms 40 gms 40 gms 364 gms
Vit E amt not stated amt not stated amt not stated
Calcium amt not stated amt not stated amt not stated 14 gms
Amino Acid Blend 1220 mg no protein no protein 800 mgs
Caffeine 35 mg nil nil nil
Dietary Fibre 1.7 gms

 

What works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for another.  The only way you’ll know if raisins work for you is to trial them in training, NOT in a race. And best to trial it first in the off season. Don’t muck around with your race and training nutrition when a mistake might really make a difference to your race results. Personally, I like a gel with a touch of caffeine, but each to their own. I’m struggling with the concept of trying to get all those loose raisins under control whilst I’m running too. You can read the full article in the Journal of The International Society of Sports Nutrition.

 

Share your experiences with race and training nutrition below.