The harsh reality of sugar-loaded soft drinks |23 April 2022

Let's start today with the plain and hard truth ‒ so No sugar-coated pill here!!

Frequently drinking sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) is associated with weight gain and obesity which then increases your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, non-alcoholic liver disease, tooth decay and cavities, and gout, a type of arthritis.

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are any liquids sweetened with various forms of added sugar, for example fizzy drinks/ soft drinks, fruit drinks, juice, sports drinks, energy drinks, cordial, sweetened water, or sweetened coffee/ tea beverages.

Sugary drinks’ impact on mental health
Excess sugars may Increase your risk of Depression.
While a healthy diet can help improve your mood, a diet high in added sugar and ultra-processed foods may increase your chances of developing depression.
Consuming a lot of ultra-processed foods, including high-sugar products such as cakes and sugary drinks, has been associated with a higher risk of depression.
Researchers believe that blood sugar swings, neurotransmitter dysregulation and inflammation may all be reasons for sugar’s detrimental impact on mental health.

Cut back on sugary beverages

                                                  

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends limiting intake of ‘free sugars’ (sugar added to foods and beverages by the manufacturer, cook, or consumer and sugar found in honey, syrups and juice concentrates) to less than 10% of total energy intake in a day. This is equivalent to 12 teaspoons per day based on an average energy intake of 2000 calories.

To put this into perspective, the image below shows the average amount of sugar in some common beverages to give you an idea of how much sugar you are actually drinking!

      Source: watsonshealth.com

Now that you've got that clear, we will try to give you some help and good advice on how to reduce your intake of SSBs.
Prepare mentally: Sugar (including sugary beverages) can be addictive, so it’s good to know that you may experience withdrawals when you quit. Luckily, this will only last a few days.
Go cold turkey: It may not be pleasant, but weaning off soft drinks could drag out the inevitable or affect your resolve. So pick a day where you plan to quit altogether and stick to it.
Find a suitable replacement: Swap soft drinks, energy drinks, or juice for water or have carbonated water/ soda water with a splash or lemon or lime. Drink your coffee or tea black or use Stevia as a natural sweetener instead of sugar.
Set a goal: It is okay to start small and tell yourself that you won’t have soft drinks for three days. Before you know it, you’ll be without it for a week.  

Look out for hidden sugars

                                              
To identify added sugars, look at the ingredients list. Some major clues that an ingredient is an added sugar include: it is a syrup (examples: corn syrup, rice syrup) or the word ends in “ose” (examples: fructose, sucrose, maltose, dextrose).
Here are just some of the names that disguise sugar:

•          corn sweetener
•          ethyl maltol
•          corn syrup
•          dextrose
•          fructose
•          fruit juice concentrates
•          glucose
•          high-fructose corn syrup
  
  Eat more natural foods
  There is a sure way to avoid the confusion of navigating through the sugar maze.
  Adopt a diet that is full of vegetables and fruits, and our wide choice of healthy local starches and tubers, starting with our amazing breadfruit.

As much as possible, AVOID or CUT OUT ultra-processed foods ‒ all these packaged foods and snacks that you grew up thinking were treats.

Choose water instead of sugary drinks as your preferred beverage of choice as it has no added sugar, no calories and no harmful ingredients.

Look at sugar differently

So start thinking differently about your food.
Begin to see sugar generally as something that can be harmful for your health.

Make small changes now, and before you know it, you’ll be reaching for a glass of water rather than a soft drink.    

Join us here on our Eat for Our Health page every week, and look for our pages on Social Media - Eat for our health Seychelles on Facebook, and @eat4ourhealth on Instagram.

Yours in health
The E4OH Team