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Against sugar, a more ambitious plan.
The World Health Organization recently mandated that people try to get only 5% of their daily calorie intake from sweets.
Now some experts have been more radical and have advised that it be reduced to 3% or less.
But It’s easier to say it than do it.
Philip James, a nutritionist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and one of the experts who made the recommendation, said that removing vending machines that offer sweets and sugary drinks in schools and hospitals, for example.
It also recommended that foods with a sugar content greater than 2.5% be labeled with a warning and imposed a sugar tax to reduce consumption.
But what could the consumer do to reduce the amount of sugar they eat per day?
BBC Mundo proposes five ways to achieve it.
Avoid sugary drinks
The first thing would be to avoid soft drinks and other high-calorie drinks.
Some 330ml cans of soda have as much as 35g of sugar.
In addition, according to nutritionists, they are not enjoyed like solid foods that have sugar, nor are they satiating in the same way as the latter.
Make your own sweets
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Homemade sweets are healthier.
In industrially processed foods, in addition to added sugars, there may be other sugar additives or substitutes that also have simple hydrates.
Therefore it is preferable to make homemade sweets in order to regulate the amount of sugar used.
When making cakes, sugar can be replaced by fruit puree that will present its natural fructose and also give texture, moisture and present healthy nutrients to the recipe.
Another option is to halve the amount of sugar and enhance the flavor with a little calorie-free sweetener.
Do not use sugar if it is not necessary
For example, if cereals are consumed with milk, the cereals generally already have sugar. Some of them contain up to 37% sugar.
For this reason, it is better not to add more to the mixture or replace the most sugary ones with other simple ones such as oats, according to recommendations from the British public health system.
By doing this you can reduce your sugar intake by 70g in a week.
The same can be done with yogurt or with a fruit puree that does not need more sugar, otherwise its natural flavor is hidden.
No-calorie artificial sweeteners can also be used if your sweet tooth calls for it.
Avoid precooked food and condiments and sauces
These foods are generally high in sugar and tempting.
A third of an average size jar of pasta sauce (approximately 150g) can contain more than 13g, the equivalent of three teaspoons of sugar.
Seasonings and sauces, such as tomato sauce can have up to 23g of sugar in 100g. These foods are usually served in small amounts, but if eaten every day, the sugar count can add up.