Consumers at risk of type 2 diabetes
Beware labelling techniques can disguise sugar in common foods
AUSTRALIANS are putting their health at risk without even knowing it.
The hidden sugars in every day food staples such as bread, smoothies and tinned beans are giving more than 200 Australians type 2 diabetes every day.
Cairns pharmacist Jody Marbelli said it was essential for Far Northern families to be aware of labelling techniques that disguised sugar in common foods.
“Using names such as glucose, fructose and sucrose as ingredients are often harder for consumers to identify as sugars,” she said.
“The hidden sugars in foods are putting consumers at a higher risk of type 2 diabetes without them even being aware of their high sugar intake.”
She said dividing the sugar content into glucose, fructose and sucrose allowed many brands to disguise their sugar content.
“By dividing the total amount of sugar into different ingredients, it makes the sugar percentage level lower and therefore appear lower on the list of ingredients,” she said.
Far Northern naturopath Brooke Pagel said people who visited her to find out why they felt ill were surprised to find out the foods they thought were healthy were actually hurting them.
“Foods such as multi-grain and brown bread, tinned baked beans, reduced fat yoghurt and smoothies are actually quite high in sugar despite their health benefits,” she said.
David Gillespie, famous for his book Sweet Poison, advises staying away from breads that contain dried fruit.
“The average sultana is 60-70 per cent sugar, but most manufacturers throw in quite a bit of extra sugar to make these breads just that little bit more wholesome,” he said.
“Two slices of a fruit loaf contains about eight teaspoons of sugar – slightly more than a chocolate bar. And that’s before you put anything on them.”
To be sure of what you and your family are eating, be sure to read the labels on packaged foods and check the glucose, fructose and sucrose percentages.