Reduce the Sugar in Your Diet

• While reducing the amount of fat is an important dietary focus for weight control, sugar intake also needs to be watched.
• Australians consume, on average, around 40kg of refined sugar per person per year - more than is considered healthy. This is equivalent to a daily intake of 22 teaspoons sugar; and provides some 440 calories or 1840 kilojoules each day - a significant amount in weight control terms. Cutting this intake by at least half would be reasonable and worthwhile.
• Most sugar in our diet is ‘hidden’ in processed foods such as soft drinks, cordials, fruit drinks, canned fruits in syrup, confectionery, biscuits, cakes, jam, sauces, icecream, jelly and breakfast cereals.
• Look for ‘low joule’, ‘diet’, sugar free alternatives. Be careful not to substitute high sugar foods with high fat foods which might boost calories even more.
• Sweeteners such as Equal and Splenda make it easy to cut down on sugar we add to drinks and dessert recipes.

The body can obtain sufficient sugar for its needs from carbohydrate-rich foods such as bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, corn, fruit, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, and lactose in milk.
These foods are also rich in other nutrients.