Is Sugar Back On The Menu?
Fit & Well|October 2017

After years of being told we should avoid it, sugar’s staging a bit of a comeback, with some experts saying it isn’t all bad. We investigate…

Charlotte Haigh
Is Sugar Back On The Menu?

Back in 2013, an anti-sugar video by childhood obesity expert Dr Robert Lustig went viral – Lustig called sugar a ‘poison’, comparing its addictive potential to hard drugs and linking it with the obesity epidemic. Since then, wellness experts have preached the importance of avoiding the sweet stuff. There’s no doubt excess sugar is bad news – since 1990, our intake has risen by 31%, partly because sugar’s used so widely in foods from yogurts to ready meals – and rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease have also soared. But now, some nutritionists are saying the anti-sugar message has got out of hand.

THE ONE TO WATCH

While some bloggers and writers advise avoiding too much fruit due to its natural sugar content, nutritionist Rob Hobson dismisses this. ‘It’s impossible to avoid natural sugar in a healthy diet – vegetables contain it, too,’ he says. Instead, you need to avoid ‘free sugar’ – anything added to food during preparation, by you or a manufacturer.

THE GOOD NEWS

This story is from the October 2017 edition of Fit & Well.

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This story is from the October 2017 edition of Fit & Well.

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