Can you keep to six teasps of sugar a day..

Definitely not and I do not add sugar to anything, except the occasional grapefruit.

jingl have you got a link to the guidelines?
I doubt if the sugar in milk counts, as it is lactose, not sucrose or fructose.
I suspect it's added sugar, not sugars contained in complex carbohydrates.

Not on your life! The problem is the hidden sugar, not the added stuff. Everything has sugar in it, it seems, whether added in manufacturing or naturally occurring.

I wouldn't have a clue where to start.

I'll second janea's request for a link to the guidelines. I also think it does not include the sugars contained in complex carbohydrates.

I found a link: life.nationalpost.com/2014/03/05/limit-sugar-consumtion-to-six-tablespoons-less-than-a-can-of-pop-a-day-who-says-in-new-recommendations/

The recommendations do not relate to "intrinsic" sugars, e.g. those found in fruit and vegetables and grains.

The Daily Mail gave away a very useful booklet yesterday with amounts of sugar you are likely to find in everyday products.

Did you know that a small tub of Rachel's Organic low-fat rhubarb yoghurt contains 5 tspns of sugar?

I wish I was chemistry competent....

When I read this I felt quite smug as all of the items listed are manufactured and pre prepared. I cook everything from scratch. But then I looked at what I had cooked over the last week.

So, a few questions for the scientists:

Does the small amount of sugar I added to the yeast starter for my bread to make it work, count?

Does the sugar in the Tarte au Pommes which I made last evening count? That is, the sugar from the apples embedded in the frangipani count?

What about the malt I use in malt loaf?

And what about the sugars in dried fruit?

And, finally, what about wine?

There is no more sugar in dried fruit than there is in fresh fruit unless more has been added. What's there in the plant is "intrinsic" and doesn't count. At least, not for the purposes of this recommendation.

Malt is extracted from something, so it counts like granulated sugar or golden syrup, etc.

Added sugar in wine will count, but not the sugar in the grapes. So you have to GUESS.

That's comforting. We're well within the limit. Not though virtue though, but through preference.

As I'm on a diet for pre-diabetes I have been very careful (mostly) to eat only home prepared meals with no added sugar and as I am not allowed fruit (I do cheat every now and again - I want some fruit) I have to ensure that I get plenty of salad/vegetables. It isn't hard to do without added sugar. Eggs for breakfast; vegetable soup for lunch; meat or fish and vegetables/salad for dinner; nuts or home-made yoghurt for snacks etc. If processed foods are avoided there should be few problems with limiting added sugar.

I like sugar in my tea and I intend to keep having it!

I am with you Kittylester, I love sugar in my tea and the rest of my diet is pretty healthy so, I am not going to give up something I enjoy. I think we are starting to be treated as if we do not have any common sense and ok, give us the facts and then let us make our own minds up. I just think too much of anything is not good for us and a balanced diet, with a little bit of what you fancy, surely cannot be that bad?

Thanks for the link Bags.

Here's an extract which might help:

"The recommendations relate to what are called free sugars — those added by manufacturers, cooks or consumers. And they abound in prepared foods. The WHO report notes that one tablespoon of ketchup contains about four grams or one teaspoon of sugar.

They relate to all monosaccharides — things like glucose and fructose — and disaccharides such as sucrose or table sugar, as well as sugars in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit concentrates.

The recommendations do not relate to “intrinsic” sugars — those built into whole foods such as fruits or vegetables."

MiceElf the sugar in your bread will be negligible - but I'm afraid the sugar in your frangipane most certainly won't

I'm too old to care anymore lol...although the only extra sugar i have is brown on my porridge in the mornings..i dislike sugar in my tea and coffee..

I don't put much in, Jane, butter, ground almonds, 2 oz sugar, an egg for a big tart for ten people. And I only make a pudding on Sundays....

How about the sugar in the Victoria sponge I have just made or in the jam and butter icing. All cake is calorie free so where is the harm

There is a big difference between the 6 TEASPOONS in the thread title and the 6 TABLESPOONS in Bags' link.

One thing I don't understand is whether the intrinsic sugar in fruit is altered by cooking.
When fruit is eaten raw, the fructose doesn't count because it stays in the cells of the fruit and isn't digested. But when you have a smoothie, the cells are macerated and the fructose is released, digested in the stomach and immediately converted to fat and stored in the liver.
So what happens when you stew fruit? Does the intrinsic sugar in the fruit then count as extrinsic?
Or if you put grated carrot in a carrot cake?
Does anyone know?

I'm afraid it's definitely teaspoons Granny23
Here's a link to an NHS website.

www.nhs.uk/news/2013/12december/pages/daily-sugar-intake-should-be-cut-study-finds.aspx

Sorry I did n't put a link up. Thank you Bags and Jane.

Yes. I should have realised it did n't include naturally occurring sugars! So milk, carrots and tangerines are back on the menu.

Phew!

Gosh, g23, I didn't notice the tablesppons bit. I reckon it's a different interpretation of tablespoon that what we Brits are used to though. My tablespoon measures are 15ml, teaspoon 5ml. Six times 5ml of straight/refined sugar per day sounds plenty to me

Where does honey fit in? I have a teaspoonful in my porridge. It is from a local beekeeper so hopefully not as refined as the Gales variety. Can I count it as half a spoonful?

'Honey is indeed a natural product. But so is sugar. Most manufacturers make white sugar by refining sugar beets and sugar cane, making white sugar a natural product. Clearly, natural is not always synonymous with healthy.

Your stomach doesn’t care whether you ingest white sugar or honey once it enters your bloodstream. To your body, sugar is sugar. All types of sugar should be consumed sparingly, even if it's honey. At the same time, honey contains a few trace vitamins and minerals and helps alleviate some health problems. While it might not be smart to consume too much honey, it is not a food you must completely avoid either.'

(Taken from the Food Myths Debunked)