Have ‘Label’ literacy

-Sahiba Bhardwaj

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India being the second most populous country in the world has a high prevalence of  undernutrition and obesity/overweight in both men and women. Even child obesity is on the rise with a prevalence of 10-30% amongst adolescents.

Obesity is a biomarker for diseases like Cardio Vascular Disease (CVD) and Type 2 Diabetes Miletus, both of which are also on the rise in India.

Consumption of added sugar is linked with development and/or prevalence of fatty liver, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, hyperuricemia, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. And this is the ingredient that can sneak into your diet in different ways without your knowledge.

With increasing awareness and the millennials getting more health conscious, the Health Foods market in India has grown manifold and has crossed (The Indian Rupee) Rs 10 Billion ($140mn) in Revenue (2015).

The consumer is a lay person who wants to switch to a healthier lifestyle either because of growing awareness or because they have been asked to lose weight or are at a risk of metabolic disorders like diabetes or hypertension or cardio vascular disorder.

However, the lay man has none or limited knowledge about the dietary guidelines for Indians and even though reading Nutrition Labels may seem easy but companies find different ways of masking important information to mislead or confuse the consumer.

So many products in the market which come with hidden sugars misleading people into thinking that they eating healthy, less or no sugar but in fact it’s the opposite.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that men limit their added sugar intake to 9 tsp per day (37.5g) and women limit it to 6tsp per day (25g).

There are over 50 names for sugar that can appear on the Nutrition Label and make it difficult for you to identify them.

Here are a few that you can look out for next time you are buying a so-called Healthy packaged product- Brown sugar, beet sugar, coconut sugar, date sugar, corn sweetener, confectioner’s powder, invert sugar, maltodextrin, maltose, organic raw sugar, jaggery.

Sometimes they may add it as a syrup- agave nectar, molasses, maple syrup, honey, high fructose corn syrup. Sometimes companies will add these alternatives and label it as ‘No refined sugar’ which may mislead you into believing that it has no sugar but in fact it’s been hidden under a different name and placed towards the end of the list of ingredients to make it appear as if it is not an important ingredient.

Sometimes companies combine some sweeteners which can appear healthier than refined sugar because they have a slightly lower Glycemic Index (eg. Coconut sugar) and combine it with some refined sugar.

But the Nutriton label only lists it as ‘Sugar’ making it difficult for you to find out the proportion of sweetener to refined sugar int he product.

In conclusion, it’s best to stick to a diet that largely includes unprocessed whole foods. Eat your fruits and vegetables and eat more from the earth and less from the box.

However, if you do find yourself picking up a packaged item at the grocery store, make sure you don’t get misled by claims like — ‘Low fat’ ‘No refined sugar’ “Low Sodium’ ‘ Whole-grain’. Read the nutrition label correctly and look for hidden sugar in the list of ingredients.

The writer is Nutritionist & Nutrition Educator, MS Nutrition Science & Research Policy, Tufts, USA

‘Looks’ can deceive

Let’s look at some foods that are readily available at grocery stores and may appear healthy but actually contain high amounts of sugar

• Breakfast cereals and granolas

They may seem like healthy options, especially the ones that Scream in large fonts on the box that they are ‘Whole grain’ or ‘Gluten-free’ or ‘Grain-free’ but will have sugar added in some form or the other.

• Ketchups, sauces and dressings

Your basic Tomato ketchup, all the so-called ‘Fat-free’ or ‘Low sodium’ dressings , sandwich spreads have sugars added to them.

• Flavoured yogurt and milks

We often pick these for our kids as a healthier drink option or for ourselves if it’s a ‘Low Fat’ flavoured Greek yogurt. But they all have alarming amounts of sugar.

• Fruit Juices

You may think they are good alternatives to other sugar sweetened beverages like coke, fanta, sprite, but they have the same amount of sugar in them.

• Protein bars & Sports Drinks

Budding fitness enthusiasts fall for these products which are loaded with sugar which not only hampers their progress but may cause more harm than good.

• Flavoured coffees & Iced teas

All the pre-mixed coffee sachets and iced teas in the market have high amounts of sugars, almost as much as the recommended daily intake in one serving.

A few more foods that have hidden sugars are canned fruits, ready-to-eat foods, pre-made soups and smoothies.

The writer is Nutritionist & Nutrition Educator, MS Nutrition Science & Research Policy, Tufts, USA

-Connect with her on Instagram: @Sahiba_b