When you do need a sugar hit, what should you turn to? Photo / Getty Images
Which treats are the best options for our health this Halloween?
The bitter truth is that our sugar obsession is wrecking our health. Experts agree that we shouldn’t surpass 30g (seven teaspoons) per day for the sake of our waistlines, heart and teeth – but we don’t heed this advice.
“Many adults and children exceed the 30g limit, often without realising it,” says Nichola Ludlam-Raine, a dietitian and the author of How Not to Eat Ultra-Processed. Unsurprisingly, biscuits, buns, cakes, jams and chocolate are among the main culprits – but, less obviously, so are yoghurts, sauces and alcohol.
But, when we do need a sugar hit – and as it’s Halloween (when we eat up to 16 times the recommended daily limit) there is no escape – what should we turn to instead? “Think moderation not deprivation,” says Ludlam-Raine.
Here, she has ranked sources of sugar, from types we should enjoy occasionally to ones we can tuck into daily.
Ingredients to look out for
Glucose syrup, glucose-fructose syrup and high-fructose corn syrup.
Found in
Cakes, biscuits, jams and beer.
Glucose syrup, glucose-fructose syrup and high-fructose corn syrup are extra sweet liquids and a type of sugar that you’ll find in the likes of sweets, toffee, chocolate bars, biscuits, jam and soft drinks.
Manufacturers add them to foods to make them sweeter and improve texture – though glucose syrup can also be found in the baking aisle of supermarkets (under the name liquid glucose) as it can be used to make homemade desserts and sweet treats.
“These are ultra-processed, added sugars,” Ludlam-Raine says, adding that they are the worst type for our health. They are classed as a “free” or “added” sugar, which is a category that we’re told to limit as eating too much will cause weight gain and tooth decay.
Research has linked high-fructose corn syrup with a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Additionally, food makers often pair these syrups with fats, providing a sweet taste and moreish texture that makes them delicious and easy to overeat, she explains.
As ultra-processed sugars typically aren’t packaged with any other nutrients – you won’t find much in the way of protein, fibre, vitamins or minerals in sweets and biscuits – these forms of sugar are quickly absorbed through the lining of the small intestine, Ludlam-Raine says.
The result is sudden spikes and drops in energy levels, which encourage us to reach for another sugary snack, as they leave the body craving another source of quick-acting fuel.
Pairing foods that contain these syrups with protein, fibre or healthy fats helps to reduce blood sugar spikes and keeps you feeling fuller for longer, Ludlam-Raine says. “For example, enjoy chocolate or sweets after a meal, when blood sugar levels are more stable.”
Ingredients to look out for
Aspartame, sucralose, stevia and monk fruit.
Found in
Low-sugar yoghurts, ice cream and sugar-free sauces and drinks.
Sweeteners include ingredients like aspartame, found in low-sugar yoghurts, ice cream and diet fizzy drinks, and sucralose, which are found in certain cakes, ready meals and sugar-free ketchup.
“These provide sweetness with few or no calories,” says Ludlam-Raine. Therefore, they’re seen as a healthier sugar-like hit for the tastebuds – providing all of the taste of sugar but with none of the calories. “They can be useful for reducing sugar intake, especially for people with diabetes or those trying to lose weight,” she says.
However, sweeteners are a hot topic of contention among scientists. “Artificial sweeteners – as long as used in the permitted amounts, which most people do – are not harmful to health to most people,” says Gunter Kuhnle, a professor of nutrition and food science at the University of Reading. But he notes that they “often get a very bad reputation”.
For example, the World Health Organisation labelled aspartame a “possible carcinogen” in July 2023 though it noted that an intake of 40mg per kg of body weight was “acceptable”. This means the average person would have to have the equivalent of 14 cans of diet soft drink per day for them to be at risk of aspartame raising their risk of cancer.
Additionally, while some research has found that they can help to reduce blood sugar levels, other studies have warned that consuming sucralose leads to spikes in appetite, which is thought to be caused by the sweetener increasing blood flow to the hypothalamus (the part of the brain responsible for appetite control).
Overall, the message from nutritionists is to proceed with caution. “I’d advise using sweeteners in moderation and focusing on retraining your palate to enjoy less sweetness overall,” Ludlam-Raine suggests.
“If you are going to use sweeteners, natural options like stevia or monk fruit are generally preferable to artificial ones such as aspartame,” she adds. A word of warning: use sparingly as monk fruit extract can be as much as 100 times sweeter than table sugar.
Ingredients to look out for
Caster sugar, demerara sugar and coconut sugar.
Found in
Cakes, biscuits and desserts.
The bags of sugar that you have in your kitchen cupboards are all types of table sugars. Even though they have different tastes and names, they are “nutritionally very similar”, Ludlam-Raine explains.
They are all forms of sucrose (crystallised white sugar); contain the same number of calories; and have negligible differences in mineral content.
As with ultra-processed versions, table sugars are also categorised as a “free” or “added” sugar, as opposed to those that occur naturally in fruit, vegetables and milk.
“They’re rapidly absorbed and provide energy but no other nutrients,” Ludlam-Raine says.
To limit how much of these sugars you consume, bake your own cakes and biscuits and swap half the sugar content for mashed banana, dates or apple puree. “You’ll still get sweetness but with added fibre and nutrients,” she notes.
Ingredients to look out for
Fructose, glucose and sucrose.
Found in
Honey, agave and maple syrup.
Pure forms of honey, maple syrup and agave – that haven’t been diluted with the likes of corn syrup – are forms of natural sugar but they are still categorised as “free”.
“This means it counts towards our daily limit (no more than 30g per day for adults),” Ludlam-Raine explains.
Despite this, she ranks these natural sugars more favourably because they provide trace minerals and a slightly lower glycaemic index compared with refined sugar. “I’d see these as a step up from table sugar but still best enjoyed in small amounts,” she says. It means a pure honey is better for you than the likes of an ultra-processed jam.
However, Kuhnle notes that “they’re both, in the end, sugar” and whether you opt for a teaspoon of honey or a teaspoon of granulated sugar is “more a matter of taste than health”.
Referring to the honey, agave and maple syrup as natural “gives a health halo to some sugars which still count as free sugars and are therefore harmful to health”, adds Nourhan Barakat, a public health nutritionist for the campaign group Action on Sugar.
“For example, honey is a ‘natural’ sugar, but it is also defined as a free sugar under UK guidance, meaning they are not contained within the cells of the food we eat,” she says. “Free sugars provide ‘empty calories’ and lack beneficial nutrients. These sugars should be limited, just like table sugar.”
Ludlam-Raine suggests that these spreads can provide a hit of sweetness alongside a healthy breakfast. “For example, drizzle a little honey or maple syrup over Greek yoghurt or kefir with berries for balance,” she says.
What to be aware of
Fructose, glucose and lactose.
Found in
Apples, peppers and milk.
Sugars occur naturally in fruits, vegetables and dairy. For a sweet hit, these are the best options for our health, Ludlam-Raine says.
“These come packaged with fibre, vitamins, minerals and/or protein,” she explains. “For example, the lactose in milk is balanced with protein, calcium and iodine.”
This slows down the speed at which the sugar from these foods is absorbed through the small intestine and released into the bloodstream, causing a more gradual and moderate rise in blood sugar levels than occurs when you eat a biscuit, for example.
The sugar in fruit and vegetables also comes with fibre, polyphenols and antioxidants, which slow digestion and support overall health, she adds. As they are a healthy source of sugar, fruit, vegetable and dairy snacks are the best choice if you get hungry between meals – and they are fine to have on an empty stomach, she says.
Is honey healthier than sugar?
Honey is categorised as a free sugar, which means that our body breaks it down and absorbs it just like any other type of sugar, explains Barakat. “It should therefore be treated as such, and limited where possible.”
However, honey is not simply pure sugar: it is primarily composed of fructose and glucose but it also contains trace amounts of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. As a result, it may offer some moderate health benefits, Gunter notes.
“For example, soothing a cough,” he says. “No one would try to [ease a sore throat] with pure sugar.”
What can I replace sugar with to lose weight?
It definitely makes sense to replace sugar with sweeteners when trying to lose weight, as they contain fewer calories than sugar, adds Gunter.
A teaspoon of sugar contains 16 calories and the average man has the equivalent of 14 teaspoons per day, while women have 11, equating to 224 calories and 176 calories, respectively.
However, scientists disagree on whether sweeteners are a good sugar substitute for those looking to lose weight. While some research has shown that sweeteners can help people to maintain weight loss, separate papers have found that sweeteners may increase appetite – curtailing attempts to eat less.
“One could of course argue that it would be even better to eat less sweet [things] and adjust your taste accordingly, but that doesn’t always work,” Gunter notes.
What sugar alternatives are best for arthritis?
“Reducing overall sugar intake may help reduce inflammation and will reduce calorie consumption, which is beneficial for individuals with arthritis,” Barakat says. “However, there is no definitive evidence that any sugar alternative specifically benefits arthritis.”
Are sugar alternatives good for diabetics?
“People with diabetes need to control their blood glucose, so avoiding sugar is generally a good idea and sweeteners can help to maintain taste without adding sugar,” Gunter says.
However, Barakat notes that while sweeteners can help reduce calorie and carbohydrate intake among diabetics, they should only be eaten in moderation and as part of a balanced diet.