Sugar Rush. PHOTOS_ Julia Kennedy, FOOD_ Iain Graham

Sugar it seems is in everything, it is everywhere, there is no avoiding it. So what sugars do we eat in a day and where are they?

There are the obvious ones, the treats we have day to day, be they Strawberry Laces or Fizzy Peaches, these sugars provide us with pure energy and are not shy about it! Blatant disregard for healthy, pure indulgent “I don’t give a crap” sweetness! Yum.

I fondly remember the slabs of packet jelly that we were supposed to break up and pour boiling water on and then reset in the fridge. A friend and I used to devour them straight from the packet. Heaven only knows what my poor stomach felt like or what the sugar rush afterwards must have been like too.

But what about the other hidden sugars?

The ones you think are doing you good but really aren’t. Honey, or maple syrup, good for you in some ways but are still considered an empty carbohydrate. Hang on carbs? You said sugars! …  they are essentially one and the same! 

I have always had a hard time working out what is sugar and what is a carb? Do I cut out carbs? Aren’t carbs bad if they are sugars?

Well… no !

What we all need is the three Macro nutrients, proteins, fats and carbohydrates. You need ‘em all. As with fats, there are good and bad. Simple carbs are basically the empty ones and Complex are the good ones.

Simple carbs are the things that you and I call sugar and contain very little nutritional value, complex carbs are your fruit, veg and grains, these nutrients are sources that contain fibre and starches, which basically are slowly, gradually, converted to glucose and then provide the body’s energy.

So hidden sugars aren’t really new news right?

We all know that and that 5% of baked beans and as much as  20% of ketchup is pure sugar, simple carbohydrate, ready to break down fast and provide a sugar rush. But the same kind of simple carbohydrate is hidden in yoghurt and milk, in the natural form of lactose, so even when you read the label to decipher how much sugar is in there compared to the ingredient list, the sugar is really well hidden. Even rice and pasta, previously considered healthy options, are packed full of refined carbohydrate, the fibre and good stuff processed out of them, secretly containing carbs in their simple form. Even the humble white potato is in essence, sugar coated.

Tomatoes, cauliflower and broccoli all contain hidden sugar in the form of complex carbs but these are much better for you.

In short, sugar is hidden everywhere, even the best kinds, but you need it and as I’m sure you heard before, you need it in balanced amounts. Don’t cut out the Carbs, or the fats…