These tips can help you to cut down: Reducing sugar in drinks Tips to cut down on sugarsįor a healthy, balanced diet, cut down on food and drinks containing free sugars. 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.īe aware that these are included along with free sugars in the "total sugars" figure that you'll see on food labels.įind out more about nutrition labels and sugar for help on how to tell the difference. These are the sugary foods we should cut down on.įor example, a can of cola can have as much as 9 cubes of sugar – more than the recommended daily limit for adults. Find out more about what to feed young children.įree sugars are found in foods such as sweets, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, and some fizzy drinks and juice drinks. There's no guideline limit for children under the age of 4, but it's recommended they avoid sugar-sweetened drinks and food with sugar added to it.Children aged 4 to 6 should have no more than 19g of free sugars a day (5 sugar cubes).Children aged 7 to 10 should have no more than 24g of free sugars a day (6 sugar cubes).Adults should have no more than 30g of free sugars a day, (roughly equivalent to 7 sugar cubes).The government recommends that free sugars – sugars added to food or drinks, and sugars found naturally in honey, syrups, and unsweetened fruit and vegetable juices, smoothies and purées – should not make up more than 5% of the energy (calories) you get from food and drink each day. 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. Sugar found naturally in milk, fruit and vegetables does not count as free sugars. The sugars in these foods occur naturally but still count as free sugars. Sugars in honey, syrups (such as maple, agave and golden), nectars (such as blossom), and unsweetened fruit juices, vegetable juices and smoothies.These sugars may be added at home, or by a chef or other food manufacturer. These include sugars in biscuits, chocolate, flavoured yoghurts, breakfast cereals and fizzy drinks. The type of sugars most adults and children in the UK eat too much of are "free sugars". Eating too much sugar can make you gain weight and can also cause tooth decay.