Are sugar-free drinks really sugar-free?

In the Healthy China Initiative (2019-2030), it is pointed out that China’s per capita daily intake of added sugar (mainly sucrose, i.e., white sugar, brown sugar, etc.) is about 30g, of which the intake of children and adolescents is a matter of great concern. According to a survey in 2014, children and adolescents between the ages of 3 and 17 who drink a lot of beverages consume more than 5% of their total energy from added sugars in beverages alone, and urban children are much more likely to consume added sugars than rural children, with an upward trend.
Sugar-containing beverages are beverages that usually contain more than 5% sugar, including sugar-containing carbonated beverages, fruit and vegetable juice beverages, sports beverages, tea beverages, milk-containing beverages, plant protein beverages and coffee beverages.
To learn to reduce sugar, in addition to the small video just now that teaches us to recognize whether a beverage is sugary by its nutrition label, we should also be careful not to be confused by the various claims made by the commodity.
Learn to check the ingredient list
Glucose, fructose, sucrose (white granulated sugar, rock sugar, brown sugar, caramel, cube sugar) and maltose, honey, glucose syrup, fructose syrup, fructose syrup, maltose syrup, high fructose corn sugar, etc. in the ingredient list of a food are added sugars. Check the Nutrition Claims
According to China’s standards, there are three kinds of nutritional claims regarding sugar: no sugar, low sugar and reduced sugar.
Sugar content ≤ 5g/100g (or 100ml), it belongs to “low sugar” food Sugar content ≤ 0.5g/100g (or 100ml), it belongs to “no sugar” food. Compared with the reference food, the sugar content is reduced by more than 25% is “reduced sugar” food. Of course, it is not enough to know the nutritional claims, but also to live and learn to avoid the following traps: Trap 1: “0 sucrose” = “0 sugar”? There are some beverage products on the market claiming that “0 sucrose”, such advertising language is not in line with the relevant provisions, will confuse and mislead consumers, mistakenly believe that “0 sucrose” is equivalent to “0 sugar 0 Sugar” is not in line with the relevant regulations. Because in addition to sucrose, there are fructose, honey, maltose syrup, etc. are added sugar.
Trap 2: “no sugar” = “no energy” sugar-free food and drink may have other sources of energy, is not the same as “no energy”. Pitfall 3: Can you drink “low sugar” beverages? Although some beverages have reached less than 5g of added sugar per 100ml, the total sugar in a bottle of beverage is not to be underestimated. For example, there is a 600ml drink with 4.8g per 100ml, which can be considered as a low-sugar drink, but the total sugar in a bottle of drink reaches 28.8g, which is a very alarming amount of sugar, so we have to learn how to read the nutrition label, and limit the amount of even “low-sugar” drinks.
About sweeteners
China approved the use of sweeteners have three major categories: first, sugar alcohols, such as xylitol, maltitol, erythritol, etc.; second, high-fold sweeteners, such as sweeteners, saccharin (sodium), aspartame, acesulfame, sucralose; third, natural sweeteners, such as stevia glycosides, sweet glycosides of rosmarinus officinalis, etc., to provide a wide variety of choices for consumers. Sweeteners because of high sweetness, low energy, water solubility, good processability, can reduce the risk of dental caries brought about by sugar intake and is widely used in food, however, sweeteners, especially sugar alcohols are not completely free of energy, which xylitol contains energy and sucrose similar to sorbitol and mannitol than sucrose is low, eaten in excess will still increase the risk of overweight and obesity. In addition, high-fold sweetener sweetness is very high, add a little on the sweet, although they provide energy in the drink is basically negligible, many businesses call this situation “zero calorie”, but because it improves the taste of beverages, but will increase the consumption of sugary drinks for children and adolescents, easy to cause children to refuse to drink plain water, but also affects appetite, causing the risk of overweight and obesity. In addition, it can also affect appetite and cause dietary imbalance. Sweeteners harmful? China’s National Standard for Food Safety Standard for the Use of Food Additives (GB2760-2014) has specific regulations on the permitted varieties of sweeteners, as well as the scope of use and the maximum amount of use. These regulations are based on the results of rigorous scientific risk assessment. Using sweeteners according to the standards is safe and secure.
What exactly is the healthiest thing to drink? Water is the best choice for children to replenish the fluids their bodies lose through sweating and other conditions. Drinking safe water is the best way for children to keep their bodies hydrated.
The World Health Organization advocates: Smart Kids Drink More Water!