7 TEASPOONS OF SUGAR ADDED TO HEALTHY SOUPS
Show reveals ingredients hidden in our food
SOME “healthy” commercial soups contain seven teaspoons of sugar, a top chef has revealed.
Hilary O’hagan-brennan said a spiced chicken soup was made with 28g of sugar per tub – 4g more than the daily recommended intake.
The chef also discovered a root vegetable soup, which people might assume is healthy, contained 16g of sugar, or four teaspoons.
“There is no place for added sugar in soup,” she said, explaining that ingredients such as carrots and onion added natural sweetness.
And sugar wasn’t the only hidden ingredient in our convenience foods, RTE’S What Are Your Eating? presenter Philip Boucher-hayes found when he investigated our dining habits.
He discovered a third of us believe wraps are healthier than sandwiches when a large wrap can be equal to two slices of bread.
And he noted commercial tortillas are made with glycerol – a form of sugar – to keep them moist, as well as emulsifier to bind the ingredients together and extend their shelf life. The documentary reveals our eating habits have changed hugely over the years and gone are the days when we brought our own food to work and spent an hour eating it.
Philip added: “Lunch is something we buy fast and eat fast.”
The show found the average person now spends €1,300 a year on lunch and just 22 minutes a day eating it. A quarter of us have lunch at work and 20% eat at their desks daily. However, occupational therapist Orlaith Mcmanus warns industry will pick up the tab for this trend. She said: “For a lot of people, unfortunately, lunch has become something of a luxury and people are seeing it as another pressure.” What Are You Eating? RTE One, 8.30pm on Wednesday.