Sue Quinn - Sugar Free: Over 60 recipes with no added sugar

This book is designed to help you reduce or even eliminate the added sugar in yourdiet, which most of us need to do. Added sugars should make up no more than 10 percent, but ideally less than 5 per cent, of the calories in the food and drink weconsume each day. That means no more than 70g for men and 50g for women.

How you reduce your added sugar intake is up to you. Some people go cold turkey,while others gradually cut down, but whatever you choose to do there are a few thingsto bear in mind.

Regardless of the amount of added sugar you currently consume, cutting down mighttake time to get used to. For example, you might find that home-made ketchup doesnthave the same sweet appeal as the bought stuff, or that cakes made without refinedsugar lack the flavour and texture of sugary versions. My advice is to stick withit, as your brain and taste buds will adjust in time. In fact, the longer you avoidadded sugar, the less you notice it.

Many so-called sugar-free recipes are laden with honey, agave or other sweet syrups,which some people praise for being natural and healthier than table sugar. Thefact is, these syrups are still loaded with sugar, have little nutritional valueand some contain high levels of fructose, which is believed by some experts to beespecially bad for human health. Thats why I have not included these ingredientsin this book. Neither have I used sugar substitutes like stevia or xylitol. I believeif you are trying to cut down on added sugar, its better to avoid artificial sweeteners,as they can fuel sugar cravings.

Instead of syrups or sugar substitutes, Ive used dried and fresh fruit to sweeten.Fruit is full of fibre, so the sugars it contains are absorbed slowly and dont causespikes in blood sugar levels. Ive also used fruit juice as a sweetener in a handfulof recipes. While fruit juice should be consumed in moderation as a drink, I believeits fine to use in small amounts alongside fibre-rich ingredients in cooking.

Finally, a word of caution to readers with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes: please seekmedical advice before using the recipes in this book.

Glucose is the bodys major fuel and is broken down from carbohydrates, a combinationof sugar molecules, in the food we eat. When experts talk about over-consumptionof sugar, theyre referring to simple sugars like sucrose (also known as added sugaror table sugar) found in foods like baked goods, sweets, desserts, soft drinks, fruitjuice, honey and syrups.

Added sugar has no nutritional value and is loaded with empty calories. The morecalories we consume, the more likely we are to be obese, and obesity is linked toheart disease, Type 2 diabetes, tooth decay and many other serious health conditions.

Some experts believe the fructose component of added sugar is especially harmful(see diagram below). Fruit and vegetables are a small source of fructose for mostpeople and are full of fibre, which slows down digestion of the sugars they contain.

Spotting added sugar on food labels can be difficult, but follow the tips below toavoid buying sugar-loaded products.

	LOOK FOR sugar content under carbohydrates. Its often listed as carbohydrates (ofwhich sugars).
	MORE THAN 22.5g sugars per 100g is high, less than 5g of total sugars per 100g islow, and a figure in between is medium.
	A LONG list of ingredients means the product is highly processed and best avoided.

	THE FIRST 4.7g of sugar per 100ml of a dairy product is naturally occurring lactose,a good sugar the rest is added.
	INGREDIENTS ARE often listed in descending order by weight, so if sugar is at ornear the top its probably loaded with sugar.
	FAMILIARISE YOURSELF with the different names for sugar on the adjacent table.

The list below contains some, but not all of the names for sugar used on food labels.

Agave nectar

Barbados sugar

Barley malt

Beet sugar

Blackstrap molasses

Brown sugar

Buttered syrup

Cane crystals

Caramel

Carob syrup

Confectioners sugar

Cane juice crystals

Cane sugar

Caster sugar

Corn sweetener

Corn syrup/corn syrup solids

Crystalline fructose

Date sugar

Demerara sugar

Dextran

Dextrose

Diastatic malt

Diatase

Ethyl maltol

Evaporated cane juice

Florida crystals

Fructose

Fruit juice/fruit juice concentrates

Fruit syrup

Galactose

Glucose/glucose solids

Golden sugar

Golden syrup

Grape sugar

High-fructose corn syrup

Honey

Hydrolysed starch

Icing sugar

Invert sugar

Lactose

Maltodextrin

Maltose

Malt syrup

Maple syrup

Molasses

Muscovado sugar

Panocha

Raw sugar

Refiners syrup

Rice syrup

Sorghum syrup

Sugar

Sucrose

Syrup

Treacle

Turbinado sugar

Yellow sugar

NHS Choices website How much sugar is good for me?

Harvard Institute of Public Health; Fat Chance: The bitter truth about sugar, byDr Robert Lustig

Use the table below* as a guide to replace sugar-laden products with less sugaryversions. Read labels carefully, as the sugar content of a product can vary widelybetween brands. Also bear in mind that processed savoury food is far from sugar free.For example, 100g of barbecue crisps can contain about the same amount of added sugaras a large square of milk chocolate.

BEVERAGES (grams of sugar per 330ml serve)

JAMS, SPREADS & CONFECTIONARY (grams of sugar per 100g)

BREAKFAST CEREAL (grams of sugar per 100g)