How to cut down sugar in your diet

In the UK we eat about 700g of the sweet stuff a week – that’s about 140 teaspoons per person.

So here are some tips to help you cut down on sugar in your diet.

■ Breakfast Try switching to lower sugar cereals or those with no added sugar, such as plain porridge, plain wholewheat cereal biscuits or plain shredded wholegrain pillows. That will cut out about 70g of sugar (22 cubes) from your diet over the course of a week!

■ Main meals Ready-made soups, stir-in sauces and ready meals can be high in sugar. When eating out, try to avoid sweet and sour and sweet chilli dishes, curry sauces and salad cream.

■ Snacks Healthier snack options are fruit, unsalted nuts, unsalted rice cakes, oatcakes or homemade plain popcorn. When shopping, look out for lower-sugar (and lower-fat) versions of your favourite snacks and buy smaller packs.

■ Drinks Nearly a quarter of our added sugar comes from sugary drinks such as fizzy drinks, juices, and cordials. Try sugar-free varieties or better yet, water, lower-fat milk, or soda water with a splash of fruit juice.

Try to go for those with less sugar such as fruit, lower-fat and lower-sugar rice pudding and plain lower-fat yoghurt.