Dispatches

'Breakfast is literally when we break our overnight fast. It's a very important meal and is a good place for us to think about how much sugar and salt we'e eating, and how much salt and sugar we're feeding our children'. Article by dietitian Sue Lloyd.

Read the Q&A with Sue Lloyd

Sugar
It's long been known that sugar, particularly white table sugar, can cause tooth decay. White sugar and similar sugars, commonly known by the very long name of non-milk extrinsic sugars, are 'empty calories'. They contain no vitamins, no minerals, or any other nutrients. They simply add sweet-tasting energy to our diets. It's this sweet taste that we enjoy, but these 'empty calories' are helping to make people obese and, in part, leading to the high incidence of diabetes in our population.

Obesity and diabetes
Two of the major public health conditions that we have to deal with at the moment. The incidence of these conditions is now so high that everyone reading this article is likely to know someone who has Type II diabetes or is overweight, or possibly both.

Salt
Our bodies need salt but our habit of eating too much has led to an increase in risk of high blood pressure and this in turn has led to an increased risk of stroke and early death from heart disease.

Unfortunately the risk of developing heart disease begins in childhood and increases with age.

Getting rid of the salt cellar is one way of cutting down on salt, but in truth most of the salt that we eat is hidden in processed foods so there is large responsibility on manufacturers to help the nation to cut down its salt intake.

Food manufacturers are currently working with the Food Standards Agency to reduce salt content in the foods they produce, but has enough really been done to help people help themselves?

Breakfast cereals
Cereals are a prime example of the challenge we face. Salt and added sugar content is high in some breakfast cereals and particularly, surprisingly, high in some of the more popular cereals targeted at the health conscious and at children. Many people are unaware of the high levels of sugar and salt in these cereals.

Confusing packaging
Front of pack labelling provides information about the sugar and salt content of manufactured food but many people find the guideline daily amount format of this labelling confusing.

Research has shown that people generally find the alternative 'traffic light' system easier to understand with the levels of sugar and salt in the food reflected in green, amber and red light symbols. Some manufacturers use traffic lights on breakfast cereal, but not all.

Daily amounts
For people trying to make sense of the front of pack information it's useful to know that the guideline daily amounts are often given at the adult levels, and of course children's levels are lower.

Also, the quantities of sugar and salt are presented per portion, usually 30g for breakfast cereal. This guideline daily amount assumes that the consumer is eating only a 30g portion. For anyone eating more (or less) than this amount the nutrient levels need to be re-calculated.

Traffic light guidance
Food labelling information, often on the side of the pack, can be helpful and this is given per 100g serving. Using traffic light guidance consumers can work out exactly what levels of sugar and salt are in their food. However, this assumes that the consumer has a traffic light guide to hand.

'Sodium has to be multiplied by 2.5 to come up with an accurate salt level'
For the consumer, salt levels are often the most complex nutrient to calculate. Sodium levels are not the same as salt levels: salt is sodium chloride and sodium has to be multiplied by 2.5 to come up with an accurate salt level. This can confuse people into thinking that salt levels are low in cereals when they are actually medium to high.

Increased awareness is crucial
As a nation we have become used to the taste of sugar and salt in our food. If most of the sugar and salt we eat are in processed food then targeting processed food intake should improve our health. It's not that we should stop enjoying our food. Far from it. By being aware of what we eat we can help ourselves, and our children, to cut down on nutrients that are harmful when eaten in large quantities.