A guide to hidden
sugars in food…
Most of us are aware that an excessive intake of sugar is bad for us. It not
only damages your teeth but can also have serious implications for your
general health. It may for example, increase your risk of developing
diabetes or becoming obese.
Whilst food manufacturers have a legal obligation to list any sugars
contained within their product, the information they provide can often be
misleading. You may think that you don’t have a lot of sugar in your diet
because, for example, you don’t eat sweets or take sugar in your tea and
coffee. Beware! Sugar is often present in foods under a different guise.
Names used include: - honey, dextrose, fructose, corn syrup, galactose,
lactose, polydextrose, mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol, maltodextrin, turbinado
sugar. For more information about food labelling please refer to our June
2009 newsletter in the archive at www.dunsdental.co.uk.
We have provided you with a table of some popular foodstuffs and their
sugar content over the page. If you have any queries please feel free to
discuss them with a member of our team.
Key to hidden sugars:
Denotes Low sugar content (<0.5 tspn sugar per portion)
Denotes Average sugar content (<1 tspn sugar per portion)
Denotes High sugar content (>1 tspn sugar per portion)
Product
Biscuits
Chocolate digestive
Digestive
Gingernut
Jaffa cakes
Rich tea
Savoury cracker
Confectionary
Aero
Portion size
1
1
1
1
1
1
1 bar
Boiled sweets
1 tube
Milk chocolate
1 sm bar
Plain chocolate
1 sm bar
Crunchie
1 bar
Dolly mixtures
4ozs
Fruit pastilles
Kit kat
Liquorice allsorts
Maltesers
Snickers bar
1 tube
2 fingers
4 oz’s
1 packet
1 bar
Mars bar
1 bar
Milky way
1 bar
Murray mints
1 tube
Polo mints
1 tube
Yorkie
1 bar
Smarties
1 sm tube
Topic
1 bar
Twix
2 bisc
Turkish delight
1 bar
Tinned vegetables
1/2 med tin
Sweetcorn
1/2 med tin
Baked beans
Peas
Soft drinks
1 sm tin
1 sm cup
Blackcurrant
4 fl oz’s
Bitter lemon
1 glass
Coca cola
1 can
Ginger ale
1 glass
Lemonade
1 glass
Orange squash
1 glass
Lucozade
1 glass
Ribena
1 glass
Tizer
1 glass
Tonic water
1 glass
Vimto
1 glass
Tinned tomato
Packet minestrone
2
0.5
1
1.5
0.5
Trace
4
10
6
6
6
20
6.5
4
18
2.5
4
5
1.5
10
5
6
4.5
4
3.5
8
2
0.5
1.5
Product
Portion size
Spreads
Chocolate spread
2 teaspoons
Honey
2 teaspoons
Jam
2 teaspoons
Lemon curd
2 teaspoons
Marmalade
2 teaspoons
Syrup
2 teaspoons
Treacle
2 teaspoons
Peanut butter
3 teaspoons
Cereals
All bran
3 tablespoons
Branflakes
6 tablespoons
Cornflakes
6 tablespoons
Muesli & sugar
2 tablespoons
Rice krispies
6 tablespoons
Shreddies
2 tablespoons
Shredded wheat
2 biscuits
Special k
6 tablespoons
Sugar puffs
6 tablespoons
Puffed wheat
6 tablespoons
Cakes
Sponge cakes
1 med slice
Scone - sweet
1 scone
Scone - cheese
1 scone
Sandwich cake
1 med slice
Lemon pie
1 med slice
Currant bun
Chocolate cake
Desserts
1 bun
1 med slice
Angel delight
I packet
Choc. Sauce
3 teaspoons
Dream topping
1 sachet
Family block
Ice cream
Slush puppy
Soups
Teaspoons of
sugar per
portion (Less
than 1 tspn
per portion is
best)
6.5
4
4
7
3
3.5
2.5
8
Instant custard
1 packet
Instant whip
1 packet
Jelly
1 packet
5
4.5
2.5
3
Fruit in syrup
1 sm tin
Trifle mix
1 packet
Fruit yoghurt
1 carton
Rice pudding
1/2 tin
Beverages
Bournvita
3 teaspoons
Drinking choc
3 teaspoons
Horlicks
3 teaspoons
Ovaltine
3 teaspoons
Teaspoons of
sugar per
portion (Less
than 1 tspn
per portion is
best)
2.5
2.5
2
2
2.5
2.5
2.5
0.5
1
1
0.5
2
0.5
0.5
0
0.5
2.5
0
1.5
0. 5
0
4.5
3.5
1.5
2
8
2
2
9
7
10.5
19
5
3.5
4.5
2.5
1.5
2.5
1
1
Sauces & pickles
1 bowl
1
Brown sauce
3 teaspoons
1 pkt
1
Salad cream
3 teaspoons
Tomato ketchup
3 teaspoons
1
0.5
1