Tell It POK FU LAM PREPARATORY SCHOOL, DECEMBER 2015
The Healthy Living Edition Hidden Sugar Master of Disguise! By Eesha Malhotra and Saskia Nacard Why is sugar the villain? What is hiding inside the box? Have you ever checked the little nutrition panel on the side of your favourite cereal?
Imagine that you are eating breakfast and you're having a big bowl of cereal, juice and yogurt. You might think that you are starting your day off perfectly. Well think again! Your cereal or yogurt and juice contain a vast amount of sugar - hidden sugar. If you looked at the ingredients of what many people might think is a ‘healthy’ breakfast, you would be astonished. You can’t just rely on what is on the front of the packet, because that can be deceptive. Make sure you always have a close look at the ingredients and the nutrition panel. Chances are there is more sugar in your cereal than you ever imagined. It may taste great, but did you know that the sugar that makes it taste so delicious is actually really bad for you? We met Tanja GuigonRech, a nutritionist based in Hong Kong, to understand how sugar is made. She explained, “It takes as much as eight sugar canes to make one sugar cube. If you were to eat a raw sugar cane fresh off the field, you couldn’t eat more than half. That’s why refined sugar is so bad for you - it is heavily concentrated.” So what can happen to your body if you consume too much sugar? Over time, you may develop a serious illness known as diabetes. If you get diabetes, your body becomes unable to control the amount of sugar in your blood. As a result, sufferers have to inject insulin every morning to help balance their sugar levels. Furthermore, eating sugar every day can lead to excess body fat, which is very unhealthy. Too much sugar can also affect your teeth, liver and heart. If you eat too much sugar over a long period of time, by the time you're an adult you could develop heart disease,
which can lead to a premature death. Sugar has a huge affect on you over time! The World Health Organisation recently released a report that said that the average recommendation for children is about 25 grams of sugar per day. That is the same as 6 teaspoons of sugar. The chances are that a portion of your favourite cereal already has this amount of sugar in it. In reality, some kids around the world are having as much as 42 teaspoons of sugar a day! Many people don’t realise that sugar is harmful. The BBC’s iwonder website states: “When we consume free sugars, they are quickly absorbed by our bloodstream and we experience pleasure and an energy boost. Our blood sugar levels spike and then drop. This is sometimes referred to as a ‘sugar crash’. These ‘sugar crashes’ make us crave sugar and the cycle of cravings and crashes continues.” So what is the secret to good nutrition? “There is no secret, it’s all about balance,” explained Ms. GuigonRech. Easy improvements you can make include switching from high-sugar cereals to lower-sugar ones such as Rice Krispies. Make your own fresh, squeezed juice instead of drinking processed juice from cartons and don’t drink too much juice. Eat more fruit, as the fibre it contains keeps you full. You can also choose healthy alternatives to fizzy drinks such as sparkling or still water. Most of all, read the nutrition label! Hopefully, that will lead you to make changes in your diet and become a healthier person.