How harmful is added sugar?

Added sugar is any sweetener put into a food or beverage during preparation or processing, as distinct from the sugars that occur naturally in most foods and drinks. Common added sugars include agave, cane sugar, raw sugar and turbinado sugar, corn syrup (including high fructose corn syrup), honey, maple syrup and cane juice. The human body does not need any carbohydrate from added sugar at all.

The main dietary sources are soft drinks, fruit drinks, flavoured yogurt, cereals, cookies, cakes, candy and the majority of processed foods. Less obvious carriers matter too: soups, bread, cured meats and ketchup all use added sugar as a sweetener. For product developers and processors, that spread across savoury and sweet categories is the reason sugar reduction is a formulation question across the whole portfolio, not only in confectionery and beverages.

Excess added sugar is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease; cognitive problems including dementia and Alzheimer's; colon cancer; diabetes; high blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels; kidney disease; liver disease; obesity and inflammation; pancreatic cancer; retina, muscle and nerve damage; and oral cavities. The liver converts dietary carbohydrate to fat in the same way it does alcohol, which can lead to a greater accumulation of fat and eventually fatty liver disease — a factor in diabetes, which in turn raises heart disease risk.

The ICMR recommended daily allowance for sugar is a maximum of 30 gm/day. Added sugars should not account for more than 5% of daily energy obtained from food and drink, which for people over the age of 11 equates to 30g per day. Consumers can stay within it by reading nutrition labels for total sugar in grams per serving and the number of servings, limiting processed food and choosing the option with the lowest added sugar, cutting back serving size including extra cubes in tea or coffee, and swapping processed fruit juices or sodas for whole fruit where possible.