Sugar
Most of us try to limit the amount of sugar we eat, especially when shopping for our children, so it’s not surprising that we become sceptical when a breakfast cereal with more than 25% sugar claims to be healthy.
What’s interesting however, is that a seemingly high sugar content doesn’t necessarily make a food ‘bad’. It’s important to look at the food as a whole taking into account the other nutrients it contains.
A breakfast cereal, yoghurt or piece of fresh or dried fruit can be high in sugar but full of goodness. It’s the nutrient density that counts. Remember sugar occurs naturally in fruit and where low fat milk may have higher levels of sugar, you’re also getting the goodness of calcium.
Made up of mostly sugar or fat, a high-kilojoule chocolate bar or soft drink is rightly considered to be an unhealthier food because it’s also low in nutrients.
