Are You Sneaking Too Many Sugars Into Your Daily Life?
Hey there, fellow foodie! Ever wondered why your lightening‑fast New Year’s resolution feels more like a sugar‑plagued roller coaster? Singapore’s sweet‑tooth problem is growing, and if you’re in your twenties, you’re probably clueless about the hidden sugars lurking in your grub.
What Fking is “Hidden Sugar”?
Think of “hidden sugar” as the sugar that gets added to foods and drinks behind the scenes – the sweeteners disguised under fancy names or naturally occurring sugars in honey, syrups, and fruit juices. In the kitchen, you might spot up to 61 different aliases, so spotting them in a supermarket aisle can feel like a treasure hunt.
Truth Bomb: most of us don’t actually read labels or decode ingredient lists. So, our “hidden sugar” budget secretly sneaks up on us.
Why It Matters
Even if you’re happy with your “no diabetes” status right now, the numbers aren’t looking good. Over the next decade, Singapore could see its diabetic population boom: 670,000 by 2030, climbing to almost 1 million by 2050 from 450,000 in 2017. That’s a serious health remix.
Tiny fumbles? Elevated sugar spikes? Hunger over‑nigt? If you ignore these tiny missteps, you’re sipping a cocktail that may eventually taste like type‑2 diabetes.
Take a Bite of the Truth
Noticed a sugar‑heavy cereal or a “low‑fat” protein bar that still carries sugar in the front of the ingredient list? That’s a sign: first‑listed, high‑sweet‑ingredients = more sugar.
Common Sugar Aliases (Not The Full Schrödinger’s Cats List)
- Corn syrup or high‑fructose corn syrup
- Dextrose (aka crystal dextrose)
- Maltose
- Sucrose
- Glucose
- Evaporated cane juice
- Maltodextrin
- Fruit juice concentrate
- Agave nectar or syrup
- Barley malt
Still sniffing? Keep your eyes peeled for these names when you’re grocery‑shopping.
Pro Tip: Filter your “sweet” habit by skipping foods where sugar’s the runner‑up in the ingredient list.
Need a Visual Cue?
Check out this quick video that demonstrates how to read sugar labels. (FYI – it’s from our Hidden Sugars team, so there’s no reason to doubt the yen of the sugar content.)
https://www.facebook.com/hiddensugars.sg/videos/1361917483954599/
Your Daily Sweet Share
The Health Promotion Board gives you a clear quota: don’t let sugar take up more than 10% of your daily caloric intake. Roughly that’s 40–55 gram or 8–11 teaspoons if you’re eating between 1600–2200 kcal.
So next time you reach for a snack, remember – the shorter the list, the sweeter the probably. Let’s keep it simple: Less sugar, more health. Cheers to sweet living without the sugar‑to‑sugar bite!
