Sugar Tax - UK

There is something I found a little confusing about the article.

It says that 30 grams is the maximum amount of sugar recommended (by whom?) in a day.

But the World Health Organization recommends that no more than 10 percent of one's calories should come from sugar.
(Oddly, at least here in the US, all the other nutrient "Daily Values" or "Recommended Daily Allowances" are given in grams. But the WHO makes its recommendations on sugar based on calories, not grams.) I asked a friend (a retired chemist) how many calories are in a gram of sugar, and she said "about 18." (I wish I had a better source for this.) Ten percent of a standard 2,000 calorie diet is 200 calories, which would be 11.1 grams. So the recommended limit on sugar seems to be about three times too high.

By the way, what are the equivalent "Daily Values" or "Recommended Daily Allowances" called in the UK?
 
When I track on My Fitness Pal, if I have three pieces of fruit throughout the day I go over my sugar for the day and the app yells at me. And that's without any other snack or sugar and creamer in my coffee. Wth.
 
When I track on My Fitness Pal, if I have three pieces of fruit throughout the day I go over my sugar for the day and the app yells at me. And that's without any other snack or sugar and creamer in my coffee. Wth.

I've been trying to research (1) sugar and (2) Vitamin D consumption consistent with a healthy diet. (The two issues are unrelated.) I am having a hard time making complete sense of what I am reading.

So at the risk of sticking my foot in my mouth, let me say this.

The WHO recommendation that no more than 10 percent of one's calories come from the consumption of sugars refers to the consumption of free sugars. Free sugars are

"all monosaccharides and disaccharides added to foods by the manufacturer, cook, or consumer, plus sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, and fruit juices". It is used to distinguish between the sugars that are naturally present in fully unrefined carbohydrates such as brown rice, wholewheat pasta, fruit, etc. and those sugars (or carbohydrates) that have been, to some extent, refined (normally by humans but sometimes by animals, such as the free sugars present in honey).

(Emphasis added.)

Free sugar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I am not familiar with My Fitness Pal, but to the extent that it is failing to distinguish between free sugar versus unrefined sugar, it appears not to be following the correct methodology.

Most dietary recommendations I have seen recommend eating three to five servings of fruit each day.

As I said, I am just at the beginning of researching all this, but this is my tentative conclusion. I am not a registered dietitian. I could very well be wrong.

Edited to correct "refined sugar" to "unrefined sugar."
 
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That makes sense and I would tend to agree with you. It's just frustrating that one would try to eat healthy and track their food intake then be told fresh fruit is too much sugar. But I like the whole free sugar vs refined. It could be why I did well on Weight Watchers where fruit is a free (no points) food. Of course, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing but I don't think three servings should be considered too much. Thanks for the input!
 
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The global sugar lobby is pretty big and spends lots of time and money keeping things hid e.g.
"Assessing sugar levels in baby and toddler foods is challenging because there is currently no universally accepted standard," explained Elliott. "While the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that adults should limit their consumption of added sugars to six teaspoons a day for women and nine teaspoons a day for men, these recommendations do not extend to children or toddlers. In fact, the AHA has not published specific 'added sugar' recommendations for children or toddlers -- even though high sugar foods are deliberately created for them. Health Canada, similarly, offers no direct recommendations -- or cautions -- regarding sugar intake or upper limits on the intake of added sugar for very young children, or for toddlers, per se." https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100628124653.htm
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100628124653.htm

Hidden Sugars in the U.S due to lax labeling regulations
In the United States, food companies are able to get away with this type of deceptive and misleading labeling due to the lax governmental standards and regulations of labeling within the food industry. Hiding behind these lax regulations and standards, the food industry is able to use the words “all natural” on products that may be anything but.

Selling Sugar to Babies and Kids – Cartoons used to sell Sugary Snacks & “Healthy” Cereals
To further compound the confusion, the food industry adds cartoon characters, “cool” kids and cute little fuzzy creatures to the packaging in the hopes of enticing children and parents to purchase their product.Searching food labels and uncovering hidden sugars will enable parents to see through the deceptive labels and avoid hidden sugars or other additives. It is very important for parents to learn how to read labels and assess the true nutritional value of the foods they are purchasing for their children."
more at http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/sugarinbabyfood.htm
Newsweek on the Sugar Lobby
Report: Sugar Lobby Buries Science on Health Threats
EU and Sugar Lobby
Sugar lobbying intensifies ahead of EU vote
 
I was told that common table sugar contains about 18 calories per gram. That figure appears to be wrong and way off.
Various sources say there are 3.87 calories per gram of sugar, which rounds to 4 calories per gram.

See:

How Many Calories Are in One Gram of Sugar? | LIVESTRONG.COM

Although you can’t isolate the calories per serving from added sugars with the information on a nutrition label, it may be helpful to calculate the calories per serving from total sugars (added sugars and naturally occurring sugars). To do this, multiply the grams of sugar by 4 (there are 4 calories per 1 gram of sugar). For example, a product containing 15 g of sugar has 60 calories from sugar per serving.

Sugar 101
 
I wrote in a post above:

I am not familiar with My Fitness Pal, but to the extent that it is failing to distinguish between free sugar versus refined sugar, it appears not to be following the correct methodology.

That is incorrect. I should have written:

I am not familiar with My Fitness Pal, but to the extent that it is failing to distinguish between free sugar versus unrefined sugar, it appears not to be following the correct methodology.

Sorry about that. Free sugar is almost always refined sugar.
 
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One of the reasons advanced to justify the "sugar tax" is that high sugar consumption leads to obesity.

John McDougall, MD, contests this proposition. He says "the fat you eat is the fat you wear," i.e., being fat comes from eating fat--not sugar or starches.

I don't know whether this is true or not, but here is a video of his remarks on this subject for your consideration.

 
I'm not sure. I'll have to buy the 3 pack DVD set, including "Ten Ways a Vegan Diet Will Help You Avoid the Scalpel" (That's what we want to promote a vegan lifestyle - an alternative to liposuction and abdominoplasty!)
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/sugary-drinks-fact-sheet/
"People who drink this “liquid candy” do not feel as full as if they had eaten the same calories from solid food and do not compensate by eating less." So it's the cheeseburgers, chips, etc we eat WITH the sody pop (as Foghorn Leghorn calls it) that's the problem.
 
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I'm not sure. I'll have to buy the 3 pack DVD set, including "Ten Ways a Vegan Diet Will Help You Avoid the Scalpel" (That's we want to promote a vegan lifestyle - an alternative to liposuction and abdominoplasty!) ...

Well, I do not think Dr. McDougall is a "huckster," or I would not have posted about his video. But is he correct or not about the role of sugar in allegedly promoting obesity? I really do not know.
 
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/sugary-drinks-fact-sheet/
"People who drink this “liquid candy” do not feel as full as if they had eaten the same calories from solid food and do not compensate by eating less." So it's the cheeseburgers, chips, etc we eat WITH the sody pop (as Foghorn Leghorn calls it) that's the problem.

Thank you for citing the "fact sheet." I am not challenging any of the facts, but correlation does not prove causation, as your statement that I have bolded shows.

I am frankly confused by this. If McDougall is right, then Britain is probably barking up the wrong tree with the proposed sugar tax--unless it can be justified by the other health benefits it seeks to promote (like fewer dental cavities).
 
Well, substituting diet soda for the sugary kinds doesn't help matters, apparently.


The Psychological Impact Of Diet Soda
"In a series of experiments, Hill and her colleagues discovered artificially sweetened beverages impacts our subsequent reactions to sweet food in ways that are distinctly different from either sugar-sweetened or non-sweetened drinks. Their research, published in the journal Appetite, suggests these products may activate a craving without satisfying it, thus increasing our vulnerability to the next high-calorie treat that crosses our path.

A body that believes it is getting an energy boost (as the sweet taste of the soda implies) and then does not may react by going into WTF mode (Where’s the Fructose?)."