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Sweeteners
For most people, sugar means
table sugar, or sucrose. In fact, there are many types of
sugars imparting varying degrees of sweetness. The sweetest
form is fructose (in fruit and honey), then sucrose ( the
main component of sugar cane and sugar beet), glucose (in
honey, fruit and vegetables), maltose (in sprouting grains)
and lactose (in milk).
Added sugars make up a larger
proportion of many people's diets than they might imagine,
especially if they are unaware that less familiar names like
dextrin, dextrose, mannose and corn syrup on a label mean
that the product contains sugars. In one form or another,
sugars are present in many breads, breakfast cereals, sauces,
processed baby foods, salad dressing, spreads and yoghurts
as well as obvious foods like cakes, confectionery, ice cream,
sweet biscuits and soft dirnks. Just a can of mineral water
with 5 per cent citrus juice added will give you 36g sugars
and 596kJ; natural mineral water has none. So it is not surprising
that the average person in Australia and New Zealand easily
consumes around half a cup of sugar (125g) a day.
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