Nutritionist urges moderation around sugary Easter treats

From left, Savannah, 7, and Grace Muggeridge, 4, enjoy tucking into their Easter eggs. Photo / Michael Craig

As we prepare to swap scrambled eggs for chocolatey ones, a nuritionist suggests we savour Easter treats, rather than succumbing to a case of chocolate-induced guilt.

According to Healthy Food Guide editor Niki Bezzant, a single medium-sized egg, or bunny, is likely to take out your entire recommended sugar intake.

If we're talking smaller eggs, Bezzant said the sugar in just three of Cadbury's marshmallow eggs would equate to around the recommended daily total.

The popular egg has been a source of controversy this year, with fans expressing their disappointment over a downsizing of the treat.

What was previously a whole chocolate marshmallow egg with flavouring on each side has now been cut down the middle with the treat to be sold as a half egg shape.

Bezzant said each of these eggs had around 15g of sugar in it.

"The WHO recommendation is for 5-10 teaspoons of free sugar a day - which is about 50 grams maximum of sugar that's added to food," Bezzant said.

But Bezzant isn't suggesting we cut out the sweet treats entirely - nor that we feel guilty about eating them.

"It's a bit like Christmas I suppose, it's a time when we do have a few treat-type foods," she said.

Enjoying treats rather than feeling bad about indulging was less likely to lead to overeating.

Bezzant also recommended we think "big picture" around our eating over the holiday period.

Exceeding your recommended sugar intake was not likely to cause any serious issues, especially if you went back to a regular healthy diet after indulging.

"It's not what you do on two days over Easter," Bezzant said.

"It's what you do all the time - or for most of the time," she said.

"You just wind it back for the rest of the week, it's not going to be a disaster."