Back to Food types. Eating too much sugar can make you gain weight and can also cause tooth decay. The type of sugars most adults and children in the UK eat too much of are "free sugars". Sugar found naturally in milk, fruit and vegetables does not count as free sugars. We do not need to cut down on these sugars, but remember that they are included in the "total sugar" figure found on food labels. Free sugars are found in foods such as sweets, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, and some fizzy drinks and juice drinks.
These are the sugary foods we should cut down on. For example, a can of cola can have as much as 9 cubes of sugar β more than the recommended daily limit for adults. Sugars also occur naturally in foods such as fruit, vegetables and milk, but we do not need to cut down on these types of sugars.
Be aware that these are included along with free sugars in the "total sugars" figure that you'll see on food labels. Find out more about nutrition labels and sugar for help on how to tell the difference.
For a healthy, balanced diet, cut down on food and drinks containing free sugars. Find more ways of cutting sugar out of your diet. Look at information on nutrition labels and ingredients lists to help reduce your intake of free sugars. Nutrition information can be presented in different ways, including on the front and the back of packs. It's important to look for the "of which sugars" figure on nutrition labels, which is part of the carbohydrate information.
While this does not tell you the amount of free sugars, it's a useful way of comparing labels and can help you choose foods that are lower in sugar overall. Look for the "Carbohydrates of which sugars" figure on the nutrition label. Products are considered to either be high or low in sugar if they fall above or below the following thresholds:.
