Sugar and Health

Sugar is a natural sweetener of plant origin and it is 100% carbohydrate and 100% natural. The sugars made by plants are sucrose, glucose and fructose. All three are found in varying amounts in most fruits and many vegetables. All carbohydrate rich foods, once digested, provide glucose, the primary fuel for the body. The source of the carbohydrate is not significant in a dietary context. The sucrose from sugar cane is identical to the sucrose present in fruits and vegetables.

The growing incidence in chronic diseases of lifestyle such as diabetes, cardio-vascular disease and obesity, especially in children, has focused the attention of policymakers and media on the consumption of fats and sugar, and the potential contribution of these essential ingredients to the diseases of lifestyle epidemic. Unbalanced and scientifically inaccurate reporting on sugar consumption has led to excessive and negative speculation regarding the value of sugar as part of a balanced diet.

Eminent bodies such as the World Health Organisation and the Food and Agricultural Organisation agree that sugar, like other carbohydrate-containing foods, has an indispensable role to play in balanced diets. These bodies concluded that there is no evidence of sugar being the direct cause of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, obesity or cancer.