Sweet enough
WATCH OUT FOR HIDDEN SUGARS, WARNS JAMES MOORE
THE country is on a sugar high – with the average adult eating 12 teaspoons of the sweet stuff each day, double what we should. But the dangers are clear – too much is linked to obesity, heart disease and Type-2 diabetes.
Anyone aged over 11 should stick to a maximum of 30g (seven teaspoons) of free sugars – any sugar added to food or found in honey, syrup and fruit juice.
Children aged four to 10 should stick to between 19-24g (about five and six teaspoons). But while we know chocolate bars and pop are packed with sugar, it can also be found lurking in unexpected places.
Cereal offender
One bowl of cereal can contain as much sugar as five biscuits according to an Action on Sugar study. Kellogg’s Frosties are one of the top offenders, with 11g of sugar per 30g portion with similar levels in Crunchy Nut Cornflakes. Beware of sugar lurking in muesli, granola and cereal bars too.
■ Sweet tip: Weetabix has 1.6g sugar per two biscuit serving, Shredded Wheat even less. Try sweetening cereal with fresh strawberries, blueberries or sliced bananas or opting for plain homemade porridge.
Saucy truth
While some shop-bought pasta sauces can contribute to your fivea-day, they can also contain as much sugar per serving as a slice of cake.
■ Sweet tip: Swap your usual sauce such as Dolmio Bolognese Sauce, at 7.1g sugar per 125g portion, for a less sweet variety such as Dolmio No Added Sugar Bolognese Sauce at 4.6g sugar per serving. Tesco Everyday Value Pasta sauce has just 2.5g sugar per 110g portion. Or try making your own from scratch with tinned tomatoes and herbs.
Canny condiments
Did you know there’s up to a teaspoon of sugar in a tablespoon of ketchup or brown sauce? Mayonnaise and sweet chilli sauces can also pack surprising amounts. Tiptree ketchup has 4.6g per 15g serving while Heinz ketchup has 3.4g sugar in a 15g serving and HP Sauce has 3.5g per 15g.
■ Sweet tip: Go for a no added sugar variety, like Heinz’s ketchup version, which comes in at just 0.7g, or opt for Daddies brown sauce at 2.5g. Real Good Ketchup, with all naturally occurring sugars, has 0.9g per 15g.
Juice the job?
Surprisingly, even 100 per cent unsweetened fruit juice also contains sugars we should be trying to cut down on, but it does contain useful vitamins and minerals.
A 150ml glass of Tropicana orange juice has 13g of sugar, while the same amount of Coke contains 16g sugar and so-called healthy smoothies can also be full of the sweet stuff.
■ Sweet tip: Stick to 150ml a day of juice, about a glassful. While it counts as one of your five-a-day, you should only have one portion. You can also dilute fruit juices with water. Innocent recently launched
smoothies 30 per cent lower in natural sugar.
Dairy’s dear
You probably knew ice cream contained sugar, but you could pay a price for eating too many yogurts too. Some Muller Corners have almost as much as a Milky Bar while Total Greek 0 per cent Fat Free Yogurt With Honey, contains 18g of sugar per 100g.
■ Sweet tip: Check the labels. Yeo Valley Natural Yogurt has 4.9g sugar per 100g for instance. For kids, the Petits Filous no added sugar variety is a good bet.
‘TIS the most wonderful time of the year... until the meltdowns start. You’ve got a to-do list longer than Santa’s and steam coming out of your ears long before the sprouts are even in the pan.
Christmas can be stressful, so here’s our expert-led guide for folks who want Christmas to be lovely, without losing the plot...
Make a stress-busting plan
Could you embrace a few seasonal traditions that actually help lower stress levels? A baking sesh with some tunes on, movie nights with snacks (and phones in another room), walks with a flask of hot chocolate or mulled wine. That way, de-stressing won’t feel like another chore to fit in, and you’ll be making memories.
“Activities like spending time in nature are balm for the soul when things are hectic,” agrees executive coach and mindfulness trainer Karen Liebenguth (greenspacecoaching.com).
“To be well, we need a balance between doing and being – ie. not having an agenda, taking time out to restore and recharge. When we go on walks in nature away from the business of daily life, our body and nervous system calm down. [And] it helps us gain perspective and a sense of agency over the choices we make.”
If it’s the anticipation of everything being overwhelming that’s giving you angst, block off regular outdoors time on your calendar.
“In busy times, the things that sustain us and give us energy often fall off our agenda.
“It’s absolutely vital to schedule in ‘outdoor time’ and to take this restorative time as seriously as any other commitment,” says Karen, even if it’s just short walks. “The payoff is huge as it brings balance, perspective and a positive outlook into your life.”
Let go of perfection
There’s nothing wrong with wanting a lovely time. But perfect? This is real life, not a Hallmark movie; no one needs that sort of pressure.
“It isn’t down to you to make Christmas perfect, and perfection is not what we should be striving for anyway. If things do not go to plan, don’t beat yourself up,” says Lizzie Grant, professional organiser and founder of Declutter on Demand (declutterondemand.com).
“It’s your holiday too, so decide on a few things you enjoy doing at this time of year, so you can get into the festive spirit.”
Shackleton Research Fellow Dr Jan Ewing, part of a University of Exeter team leading a long-term study into what builds healthy marriages and relationships (they’ve followed a range of couples who’ve both stayed together or split, across a 10 and now almost 15-year timeframe) says avoiding the perfectionist mindset is a biggie – especially if Christmas stress tends to lead to rows and resentment between you and your partner.
“The couples who were doing well had what psychologists would call a developmental mindset. People who are developmental don’t expect things to be perfect; they expect to have to work on their relationship, to have stressful periods, and therefore they’re not side-swept by that as much when it happens,” she says. “They talk about how it’s just unrealistic to think it’s going to be all plain sailing, because that’s not life,” explains Dr Ewing. So when it comes to Christmas, these couples might expect “there’d be highs and lows, fun and tears”. “There’s going to be a point where one kid has had too much chocolate and will have a little meltdown,” adds Dr Ewing. “And perhaps your brother and sister-in-law have never got on, so there’s probably going to be words.”
Teamwork makes the dream work
It’s not about channelling your inner Scrooge and dreading the inevitable awfulness of it all (although yes, we’ve all been tempted to cancel the whole thing!). But a healthy dose of realism means we can respond more comfortably and not take everything as a personal blow or shattering disappointment.
Plus, for couples, it provides space to work as a team – something those doing well in their study did a lot of, adds Dr Ewing, as well as anticipating “trigger points” and talking about them beforehand.
“They saw the possible things [that might cause stress], and even though they couldn’t necessarily change or control them, they talked about it in advance. That helped them put strategies in place for getting through it, and even just anticipating that it could happen, helped,” says Dr Ewing.
Share the load
Another very important aspect to working as a team is to share the load. Remember, your partner is not a mind-reader (no matter how strongly you wish they were or think they ‘should’ be), so speak up. And be prepared to accept your part in your relationship dynamics: do you end up doing everything yourself because you think you do it better? Do you feel guilty when you actually get a moment’s peace and aren’t the one doing everything?
Dr Ewing says the healthy couples they saw tended to “keep short accounts” with each other. “They don’t let things fester; they talk about it there and then.” They also tended to be “reciprocal with their efforts” but didn’t “keep score” of who was doing the most – they just “cracked on with it as a team”.
This isn’t just about partners and spouses – if you are hosting or getting together with family, Lizzie suggests delegating tasks amongst each other too. This could be specific food and drinks items, which will share the work and costs.
And there’s always January...
Christmas can also crank peoplepleasing pressures to the max.
“The first thing is to recognise our tendency to people-please and to be kind to ourselves,” says Karen. “When we people-please, we neglect our own needs and wants and undermine our wellbeing. So, a helpful first step is to pause and ask ourselves: ‘And what do I need and want right now?’
“It’s not about not pleasing others, but to take ourselves into account. It’s about being able to have clear boundaries and say no at times. For example: ‘Yes, I’m happy to stay over at Christmas and help with the preparations but I won’t come for five days, I will come for three because I also need a day or two to myself ’.”
Plus, there can be so much pressure to cram everything into December. While a full festive calendar can be lovely, overloading may not be wise. Maybe seeing loved ones in January instead would make more sense all round, and who says the run-up to December 25 has to be a military operation anyway?
“Cut your to-do list down to the absolute essential tasks, which are achievable,” suggests Lizzie. “Break each of these down into smaller chunks and diarise when to do them. Then, if it looks like you have time, move on to a few of the ‘niceto-do’ tasks. But remember, if it’s not essential, give yourself a break!”
It isn’t down to you to make Christmas perfect, and perfection is not what we should be striving for... Declutter on Demand’s Lizzie Grant