0:00:02 > 0:00:04There's a lot we don't know about the food on our plates.
0:00:04 > 0:00:09And the shops and the labels don't always tell you the whole story.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12I think they encourage you to buy more than you need
0:00:12 > 0:00:15and that causes a lot of waste.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17Whether you're staying in or going out,
0:00:17 > 0:00:20you've told us you can feel ripped off by the promises
0:00:20 > 0:00:25made about what you eat and what you pay for it.
0:00:25 > 0:00:30It makes my blood boil because I feel like they are tricking people.
0:00:30 > 0:00:34From claims that just don't stack up to the secrets behind the packaging,
0:00:34 > 0:00:37we uncover the truth about Britain's food
0:00:37 > 0:00:40so you can be sure you're getting what you expect
0:00:40 > 0:00:42at the right price.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44Your food, your money.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46This is Rip Off Britain.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50Hello and welcome to Rip Off Britain,
0:00:50 > 0:00:52where today we're looking into something
0:00:52 > 0:00:54that it seems we just can't get enough of
0:00:54 > 0:00:57and yet at the same time, we're always being warned about - sugar.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01You know, Julia, if you put that word into the NHS website,
0:01:01 > 0:01:02the advice is very clear -
0:01:02 > 0:01:05most adults and children in the UK eat far too much of it.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08But we may not always be aware of that because even when
0:01:08 > 0:01:11you've bought something that you know contains sugar,
0:01:11 > 0:01:14you may not realise quite how much,
0:01:14 > 0:01:16and you can forget about a spoonful of sugar.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20There are some well-known products with perhaps closer to a trowel-ful.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23Well, sugar can pop up in extraordinary amounts
0:01:23 > 0:01:25in all sorts of places.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27So we'll be revealing what some of those are
0:01:27 > 0:01:30and finding out why watching how much sugar you eat can be
0:01:30 > 0:01:32a lot harder than you might think.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Coming up - it's the most important meal of the day,
0:01:36 > 0:01:39but how many of us are having a healthy breakfast?
0:01:39 > 0:01:43Manufacturers have convinced us, very cleverly, that a bowl of cereal
0:01:43 > 0:01:46is the healthiest option for us at breakfast time,
0:01:46 > 0:01:48and that's actually very misleading.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50They're actually not that nutritious,
0:01:50 > 0:01:52they're insubstantial foods.
0:01:52 > 0:01:57And fruit smoothies may be an easy way to get some of your five-a-day,
0:01:57 > 0:01:58but could they have more in common
0:01:58 > 0:02:01with your average soft drink than you might think?
0:02:01 > 0:02:05My younger son Stanley started to complain over toothache.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08So I went to see the dentist, who told me, to my horror,
0:02:08 > 0:02:11that he actually had quite severe tooth decay.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14Now, you may not think that you have a sweet tooth,
0:02:14 > 0:02:17but you'd be very surprised by how much sugar goes into foods
0:02:17 > 0:02:19that we don't always think of as sweet.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23And it's this hidden sugar that's causing some experts to say
0:02:23 > 0:02:26that we're dangerously addicted to the sweet stuff.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31If you don't put sugar in your tea or coffee,
0:02:31 > 0:02:32or sprinkle it on your cereal,
0:02:32 > 0:02:35it's very easy to assume that you don't have much of it.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38But the chances are you're wrong, because you could be eating
0:02:38 > 0:02:42more than you think without even realising.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45Oh, a very nice library. Gorgeous.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47'Dr Aseem Malhotra is a cardiologist
0:02:47 > 0:02:50'and the Scientific Director of the campaign group
0:02:50 > 0:02:55'Action On Sugar who firmly believe that we eat too much sugar.'
0:02:55 > 0:02:57I look back for example on my own childhood,
0:02:57 > 0:03:01my mum was a wonderful baker, so she made these great cakes,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04lots of biscuits and little buns and all sorts of things.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07I was 7st 2lb at the time and I thought I was very healthy.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10So we've always had sugar in our diets,
0:03:10 > 0:03:11so what is the change?
0:03:11 > 0:03:13Absolutely, you make a good point there.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16In my view, there's nothing wrong with the occasional treat,
0:03:16 > 0:03:20but the problem is the occasional treat has now insinuated itself
0:03:20 > 0:03:22within the daily diets of most people.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25A third of sugar consumption comes from sugary drinks,
0:03:25 > 0:03:29about a sixth comes from items that people normally associated
0:03:29 > 0:03:31as being potentially junk food or treats -
0:03:31 > 0:03:34things like ice cream, biscuits and cakes.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37But up to half of sugar is consumed in products or foods
0:03:37 > 0:03:41that people don't associate as being harmful, such as breads,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44salad dressings, ketchup.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49Now, the sugar industry disputes those figures,
0:03:49 > 0:03:53saying that the amount that we actually consume is much lower.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55Although there continues to be fierce debate,
0:03:55 > 0:03:58Aseem and others like him believe that hidden sugars,
0:03:58 > 0:04:00those we don't even think we're eating,
0:04:00 > 0:04:03are a root cause of Britain's obesity crisis,
0:04:03 > 0:04:05and the health problems that can walk hand-in-hand
0:04:05 > 0:04:07with being overweight.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13Like an estimated 2.7 million people in the UK,
0:04:13 > 0:04:17Nigel Greensitt has been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes -
0:04:17 > 0:04:21a condition for which being overweight or obese is a key risk.
0:04:21 > 0:04:22Well, to be quite honest with you,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25I don't think it came as a surprise to me.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28It was one of those things that had been going on for a bit,
0:04:28 > 0:04:30the doctors had been telling me
0:04:30 > 0:04:33previously that my glucose levels had been creeping up.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36So, it eventually got to the stage where they said,
0:04:36 > 0:04:37"Right, you've gone over now."
0:04:37 > 0:04:41When Nigel was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes,
0:04:41 > 0:04:43he was forced to change his approach to all foods,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46not just the ones that were obviously sweet.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50You'd be surprised, actually.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53Baked beans. Although people say they are good for diabetics,
0:04:53 > 0:04:56they actually do have considerable amounts of sugar in them.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58In the early days, if I was eating pasta,
0:04:58 > 0:05:00I would be buying some of the ready-made sauces.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03When you look at the labels, you see they've got sugar in them,
0:05:03 > 0:05:05so these days I don't do that,
0:05:05 > 0:05:06so I can control the amount of sugar
0:05:06 > 0:05:09that's going into what I'm eating that way.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14Nigel's diabetes has also forced him to look closely at the food he buys,
0:05:14 > 0:05:18meaning a simple supermarket shop can take hours, as he has to
0:05:18 > 0:05:22check even unexpected items to see how much sugar might be inside.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27I will spend quite a bit of time looking at labels to see
0:05:27 > 0:05:30how much sugar is in things, how much fat is in things.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33There was a salad dressing that I'd never seen before.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37I was looking at the label and it's between 25 and 27% sugar
0:05:37 > 0:05:39and that's in a salad dressing!
0:05:39 > 0:05:41That seems ridiculous to me.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45Why would you want that and are people becoming programmed to
0:05:45 > 0:05:49eating these things with the sugars in them?
0:05:50 > 0:05:53Some health campaigners believe that the guideline daily amount,
0:05:53 > 0:05:58or GDA, for how much sugar we should eat is far too high.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01They believe we should be advised to eat less sugar,
0:06:01 > 0:06:03and Dr Malhotra agrees.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07So what is the advice, then, as to the amount of sugar
0:06:07 > 0:06:09that on average we should have every day?
0:06:09 > 0:06:12What the American Heart Association did in 2009 is they reviewed
0:06:12 > 0:06:14the amount of added sugar,
0:06:14 > 0:06:17that they were concerned about was being consumed in the American diet,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20and they recommended a limit for the average adult male
0:06:20 > 0:06:22of nine teaspoons a day...
0:06:22 > 0:06:23- Nine?- Nine.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26..and the average adult female, six teaspoons a day.
0:06:26 > 0:06:31There is no official definition of how much sugar a teaspoon represents
0:06:31 > 0:06:32but it's widely used as shorthand.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35Generally around 4g is implied,
0:06:35 > 0:06:38although some think it's more like 5g.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40Well, we were talking about fizzy drinks.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42Here, I have a can of fizzy drink,
0:06:42 > 0:06:44which would be enjoyed by adult and child alike.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48The labelling on this can suggests that this represents
0:06:48 > 0:06:5139% of your guideline daily amount,
0:06:51 > 0:06:54suggesting that it's OK to have up to two and a half cans
0:06:54 > 0:06:57- of these a day. - And yet if you take that analysis
0:06:57 > 0:07:00and use the American reading of only three teaspoons
0:07:00 > 0:07:02for a child between four and eight,
0:07:02 > 0:07:04there you have three times the amount in just one can.
0:07:04 > 0:07:09Absolutely. And, of course, I believe in personal responsibility
0:07:09 > 0:07:12but personal responsibility also means giving the public
0:07:12 > 0:07:14and the consumer the correct information.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18Of course, as things stand, all Coke are doing is using
0:07:18 > 0:07:21the official recommended GDA amounts.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25Now, as yet, neither government on either side of the Atlantic
0:07:25 > 0:07:28has officially reduced the recommended sugar intake.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31But surely the health campaigners realise that, for many people,
0:07:31 > 0:07:34sugar is an integral part of their diet?
0:07:34 > 0:07:37People would say "I've got to live, I've got to shop,
0:07:37 > 0:07:39"I've got to feed my family every day,"
0:07:39 > 0:07:43so what would you say to cut out and what would you say is all right?
0:07:43 > 0:07:47I think there's a very simple concept actually which I try to promote,
0:07:47 > 0:07:51and I tell my patients, is try and eat real food.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53Try and eat food that you can cook,
0:07:53 > 0:07:56that doesn't necessarily come out of a packet
0:07:56 > 0:08:00that you know is full of sugar, to avoid sugary drinks.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02You can still enjoy your food,
0:08:02 > 0:08:06but I would say eat food that's real food, not processed food.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09- So eat fresh?- Absolutely.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12Well, recently, I've been on a low-sugar diet for medical reasons
0:08:12 > 0:08:14just to keep my blood sugar levels down
0:08:14 > 0:08:16and one of the things my doctor told me
0:08:16 > 0:08:18was to cut down on my sugar intake
0:08:18 > 0:08:20and this is my way to achieve that.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24Well, I'm going to show you today, actually, it's relatively easy.
0:08:24 > 0:08:25Now, this is my method.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Now, for breakfast, of course,
0:08:27 > 0:08:30no toast, no bread. So I could have porridge once a week,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33or this is a particularly measured-out granola
0:08:33 > 0:08:35which actually tastes divine.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39Berries are good, actually, any kind of berries, apparently,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42so if you want to add some berries to your porridge or to your granola,
0:08:42 > 0:08:44that's fine and, of course, the yoghurt.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46Now, we move down to lunch.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48Now, particularly when we're out and about,
0:08:48 > 0:08:51sometimes it's hard when you're on the move and working
0:08:51 > 0:08:53to get the right things for lunch.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56But basically, I could have soup or a good salad
0:08:56 > 0:08:59and to that, you can add chicken or anything you want.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01I just have some cheese and ham here today,
0:09:01 > 0:09:06but it's good protein, good salad and lots of veggies in the soup.
0:09:06 > 0:09:07Coming to dinner.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10Well, dinner, really, you can have anything
0:09:10 > 0:09:11because this is all protein -
0:09:11 > 0:09:13protein in chicken, protein in fish -
0:09:13 > 0:09:16I find that I do have to add an extra chunky vegetable
0:09:16 > 0:09:18like cauliflower or broccoli but, of course,
0:09:18 > 0:09:20you can have any amount of vegetables,
0:09:20 > 0:09:22and the colour is absolutely gorgeous
0:09:22 > 0:09:26and it feels healthy and actually I don't find dinner a problem at all.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29Mind you, I'm not goodie-two-shoes all the time.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31I do occasionally have a bit of a dessert,
0:09:31 > 0:09:34but we all need to make our own judgements about how much sugar
0:09:34 > 0:09:37we feel comfortable with consuming.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40We contacted Sugar Nutrition UK,
0:09:40 > 0:09:44a research body principally funded by sugar manufacturers,
0:09:44 > 0:09:46who stressed that "expert committees",
0:09:46 > 0:09:48"health professionals" and "governments"
0:09:48 > 0:09:51have all concluded that sugar can be enjoyed
0:09:51 > 0:09:53as part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56And as for the consequences of eating too much sugar,
0:09:56 > 0:09:59they told us "a recent review commissioned
0:09:59 > 0:10:00"by the World Health Organisation
0:10:00 > 0:10:04"concluded that it is the over-consumption of calories
0:10:04 > 0:10:07"that result in weight gain, and is not specific to sugar" -
0:10:07 > 0:10:11a conclusion that they insist is endorsed by other expert evidence.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15I also went to meet Gaynor Bussell,
0:10:15 > 0:10:19a dietician whom Sugar Nutrition UK suggested we speak to
0:10:19 > 0:10:23and who specialises in obesity and weight management.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26Does she believe that we should eat less sugar?
0:10:26 > 0:10:28The experts, our government
0:10:28 > 0:10:33and also now the European Parliament have had experts look at these
0:10:33 > 0:10:37and the European Parliament hasn't actually put a limit
0:10:37 > 0:10:41on how much sugar people can have. But our experts in the UK
0:10:41 > 0:10:48have said that it's fine to have up to 90g of sugars a day.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51How many spoonfuls of sugar would that be, roughly?
0:10:51 > 0:10:54Well, it's 5g of sugar in a teaspoon
0:10:54 > 0:10:58so 90g is going to be about 18 teaspoons.
0:10:58 > 0:10:59To me, that is horrific.
0:10:59 > 0:11:04Well, if you think of it as sugars coming from fruit, fruit juice,
0:11:04 > 0:11:07milk sugar, which is lactose,
0:11:07 > 0:11:09even honey, fructose,
0:11:09 > 0:11:12sugar that you would put in bread to make the yeast go,
0:11:12 > 0:11:17so it's not just the pure white stuff that you might think of.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19It's coming from a lot of different sources.
0:11:19 > 0:11:20Now, I do understand that.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23But, as a nation, we are having too much sugar.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26About 10% more, on average, than we should.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29As a dietician, and you accept that people are having too much sugar,
0:11:29 > 0:11:33then where does your responsibility lie to train, for example,
0:11:33 > 0:11:37young mothers with young children how to bring up their kids without
0:11:37 > 0:11:41having a bar of chocolate that's going to be their full day's intake,
0:11:41 > 0:11:43without having soft drinks,
0:11:43 > 0:11:46that are packed with eight, nine, ten spoonfuls of sugar?
0:11:46 > 0:11:48Where do you start?
0:11:48 > 0:11:51There are lots of programmes that look at children
0:11:51 > 0:11:53and work with the mothers,
0:11:53 > 0:11:56and one of the things we would talk about
0:11:56 > 0:12:02is we'd show how much sugar is in a biscuit or a Mars bar
0:12:02 > 0:12:07so people can see visibly how much of that is sugar.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10And we would say now as a snack, a healthier snack,
0:12:10 > 0:12:14better for your teeth and everything is maybe to have a piece of fruit
0:12:14 > 0:12:17and not have that Mars bar.
0:12:17 > 0:12:22I would say a Mars bar is quite a big chunk for a little child
0:12:22 > 0:12:23to have as a snack.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27The things that are causing heart disease and the obesity
0:12:27 > 0:12:31and diabetes is not about the amount of sugar in our food
0:12:31 > 0:12:34or hidden sugars or whatever you're calling them,
0:12:34 > 0:12:36it's about a lot of things.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39We're over-consuming a lot more saturated fat than we should,
0:12:39 > 0:12:42our diet is not as nutritious as it used to be,
0:12:42 > 0:12:43people can't afford it,
0:12:43 > 0:12:48so there's a lot of messages out there that need to be brought across
0:12:48 > 0:12:50and I don't think that just homing in on sugar
0:12:50 > 0:12:53is actually helpful at all.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56So the hot debate goes on.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59And while some say the risks of sugar are overblown,
0:12:59 > 0:13:01you're unlikely to come across a doctor
0:13:01 > 0:13:03who'd tell you to eat more of it.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05So keeping a closer eye on your sugar intake
0:13:05 > 0:13:08certainly won't do you any harm, and may even do you some good.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15Next, breakfast.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18We're always being told that it is the most important meal of the day
0:13:18 > 0:13:20and we probably all know how it feels
0:13:20 > 0:13:23if by mid-morning, you've skipped it.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25But an awful lot of people who do have breakfast
0:13:25 > 0:13:29still aren't giving themselves quite the healthy start
0:13:29 > 0:13:31that they think, and you might be surprised
0:13:31 > 0:13:33by what's actually recommended.
0:13:35 > 0:13:36The Great British Breakfast,
0:13:36 > 0:13:39whether it's a full English, Irish, Scottish or Welsh,
0:13:39 > 0:13:44has traditionally been big, fried and meaty.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47But the modern-day breakfast is very different - in fact,
0:13:47 > 0:13:50we've firmly turned our backs on the good old fry-up
0:13:50 > 0:13:54in favour of something altogether more convenient.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58Here in Britain, we're breakfast-cereal crazy.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01We eat more of the stuff than any other country in the world
0:14:01 > 0:14:03with the exception of America.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06And of course we're bombarded with advertisements from various
0:14:06 > 0:14:11manufacturers trying to tempt us to buy their brand above anyone else's.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15Now, a lot of those advertisements are aimed at families
0:14:15 > 0:14:18and a lot of claims are made about the nutritional value
0:14:18 > 0:14:20of individual cereals.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23But how much of that should we be taken in by?
0:14:23 > 0:14:26"Fortified with vitamins and iron."
0:14:26 > 0:14:28"Wholegrain."
0:14:28 > 0:14:29"Low in saturated fat."
0:14:29 > 0:14:32They're all statements proudly made on the box,
0:14:32 > 0:14:36but they could be drawing attention away from sometimes
0:14:36 > 0:14:40rather surprising levels of other ingredients, like sugar and salt?
0:14:40 > 0:14:45These Honey Monster Sugar Puffs say they're a source of fibre and vitamins,
0:14:45 > 0:14:47but they're also 31% sugar -
0:14:47 > 0:14:50that's over 9g a serving.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54Even when you look beyond sweet cereals, you might get a surprise.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58For example, a bowl of All Bran accounts for 8% of an adult's
0:14:58 > 0:15:01daily sugar and salt allowances.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04And if you think that skipping cereals in favour of toast
0:15:04 > 0:15:06is any better, well, think again -
0:15:06 > 0:15:11one white slice can contain 8% of your guideline daily amount of salt
0:15:11 > 0:15:14and that's before you even think about spreading anything on it!
0:15:14 > 0:15:18So what does make a healthy breakfast?
0:15:18 > 0:15:20Each person's going to take one scoop...
0:15:20 > 0:15:24Tracey Cooke runs cookery classes for kids with a firm emphasis
0:15:24 > 0:15:27on helping them to catch the healthy-eating habit early.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30Who can tell me what they've had for breakfast today?
0:15:30 > 0:15:31Sam?
0:15:31 > 0:15:33Coco Pops.
0:15:33 > 0:15:34Coco Pops.
0:15:34 > 0:15:39Right, we'll talk more about what's healthy, but if you had
0:15:39 > 0:15:43the choice of just porridge or some Coco Pops,
0:15:43 > 0:15:45which do you think you would choose?
0:15:45 > 0:15:47- Lucy?- Porridge.
0:15:47 > 0:15:48Porridge, why's that?
0:15:48 > 0:15:52Because having chocolate for breakfast is disgusting.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55Well, Lucy may think that's disgusting,
0:15:55 > 0:15:58but not all her classmates would agree.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02Kellogg's Coco Pops have been a family favourite for decades,
0:16:02 > 0:16:06but parents who take a close look at the box may not be so impressed.
0:16:06 > 0:16:10The pack says that it contains 35g of sugar per 100g of cereal.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13That's 35%.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17Many other top-selling brands have similarly high sugar levels.
0:16:17 > 0:16:22Nestle Frosted Shreddies contain 28.8% sugar.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26Kellogg's Crunchy Nut Chocolate have 40% sugar.
0:16:26 > 0:16:27And one of the leading cereals
0:16:27 > 0:16:29that you might expect to be better for you
0:16:29 > 0:16:31actually has nearly as much.
0:16:31 > 0:16:37Dorset Cereals Luscious Berries and Cherries is 39.6% sugar.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41So before you even think about sprinkling on any extra,
0:16:41 > 0:16:46your daily bowl of cereal has already got quite a large proportion
0:16:46 > 0:16:48of your daily intake of sugar which means that
0:16:48 > 0:16:54an awful lot of kids are going to school in an unexpectedly sweet way.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58Sarah Vince-Cain is a Community Paediatric Dietician in Manchester
0:16:58 > 0:17:02who works with overweight children and their families.
0:17:02 > 0:17:08We see children with teeth problems, decaying teeth, extractions.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11So, high-sugar diets are a problem.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14Sugary cereals do contribute to this issue,
0:17:14 > 0:17:17sugary drinks probably more so.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19So when I see a child and a family,
0:17:19 > 0:17:23one of the first questions I ask about is their breakfast habits,
0:17:23 > 0:17:26and what kind of cereal they're choosing if they are having a cereal.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30Sarah and her fellow dieticians are not anti-cereal,
0:17:30 > 0:17:31in fact quite the reverse.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34But she says the key is which ones we choose
0:17:34 > 0:17:37and how much of them we eat.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40Breakfast cereals are really important for children,
0:17:40 > 0:17:43they've got lots of vitamins and minerals, and calcium with the milk
0:17:43 > 0:17:45so I can't recommend them highly enough.
0:17:45 > 0:17:50However, some of these cereals do look a little bit too tempting,
0:17:50 > 0:17:53I would say. The more these products are processed,
0:17:53 > 0:17:55the faster they're absorbed into the body
0:17:55 > 0:17:57and they're not going to make children feel fuller for longer.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59It's going to be difficult for them
0:17:59 > 0:18:01to be sustained throughout the school morning.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04Some of these I might give children as a dessert
0:18:04 > 0:18:05rather than a breakfast.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08Cereal manufacturers are adamant that their breakfasts
0:18:08 > 0:18:12are a valuable part of a balanced diet
0:18:12 > 0:18:15and that they market their products responsibly.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18But some politicians are not convinced
0:18:18 > 0:18:20and they want the Government to step in.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24Andy Burnham is Labour's Shadow Health Secretary.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27I am uncomfortable with that idea that any child sits down
0:18:27 > 0:18:31to food at breakfast time that is getting up to 40% sugar.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33I would say to other MPs in Parliament,
0:18:33 > 0:18:35are we really sure we are doing enough at the moment to
0:18:35 > 0:18:39protect children from some of the worse excesses of the food industry?
0:18:39 > 0:18:40Do you know? I don't think we can.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43I think it's time for Parliament to act
0:18:43 > 0:18:46and say, "Look, no-one's going to make products that go over that
0:18:46 > 0:18:48"because they're damaging to our children's health."
0:18:48 > 0:18:51He is proposing a cap on the total amount of sugar
0:18:51 > 0:18:52in our breakfast cereals.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54That would help all parents
0:18:54 > 0:18:57because then they would know that no product they're buying
0:18:57 > 0:19:00in a supermarket can be over 30% sugar.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02The government's definitely got a job to do in standing behind
0:19:02 > 0:19:04the parents, making things simpler
0:19:04 > 0:19:10and setting basic maximum levels that no product should go over.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12Campaigning journalist Joanna Blythman
0:19:12 > 0:19:15is concerned about the way that they can be marketed
0:19:15 > 0:19:16as a healthier choice.
0:19:16 > 0:19:21Manufacturers have convinced us, very cleverly, that a bowl of cereal
0:19:21 > 0:19:24is the healthiest option for us at breakfast time
0:19:24 > 0:19:26and that's actually very misleading.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29The first problem is that many of the cereal products
0:19:29 > 0:19:33have extremely high levels of sugar and also of salt.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36That's because they wouldn't taste of anything unless they had that.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38But the other problem is that
0:19:38 > 0:19:40they're actually not that nutritious,
0:19:40 > 0:19:42they're insubstantial foods.
0:19:42 > 0:19:47But how do cereals compare with the good old Full English?
0:19:47 > 0:19:51Well, there's little surprise that bacon and eggs pack more fat
0:19:51 > 0:19:54than most cereals we've found, but when it comes to sugar,
0:19:54 > 0:19:57they're the out-and-out winners with the lowest amounts.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01However, it seems that salt can be harder to avoid.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04A typical cooked breakfast can pack around two-thirds
0:20:04 > 0:20:07of your guideline daily amount of salt.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09Of course, choose carefully,
0:20:09 > 0:20:11and any type of breakfast can be healthy.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13And Joanna would rather follow the age-old advice
0:20:13 > 0:20:15of "go to work on an egg".
0:20:15 > 0:20:17I would be much happier to see
0:20:17 > 0:20:21a child eat a traditional cooked breakfast of some description,
0:20:21 > 0:20:24preferably eggs which is one of the most nutritious,
0:20:24 > 0:20:26in fact the most nutritional breakfast food
0:20:26 > 0:20:31that I can think of, than I would be to see them eating a bowl of cereal,
0:20:31 > 0:20:35because they will actually keep children going for longer.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38Dr Carrie Ruxton is a dietician
0:20:38 > 0:20:40with the Breakfast Cereal Information Service,
0:20:40 > 0:20:43part of the group which represents cereal manufacturers.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46I agree that we need to reduce sugar intakes
0:20:46 > 0:20:49because, certainly, children's sugar intakes are too high.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53But if you look at where people get their daily sugar intakes from,
0:20:53 > 0:20:55the biggest proportion is from
0:20:55 > 0:20:57soft drinks, biscuits, cakes and confectionaries.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01Cereal manufacturers say they've been cutting the sugar
0:21:01 > 0:21:03and salt content of their cereals for a number of years,
0:21:03 > 0:21:06but it has to be a gradual process.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10The breakfast cereal industry as a whole have cut
0:21:10 > 0:21:16about 57% of salt out of breakfast cereals over the last few years
0:21:16 > 0:21:19so that strategy has actually worked very well.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23If you then try and apply that to sugar, that is much more difficult
0:21:23 > 0:21:27because again, they've been working to reduce sugar levels but at
0:21:27 > 0:21:31some point, you will reach a point where consumer acceptability drops.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35And in any case, the industry says we shouldn't be looking at just
0:21:35 > 0:21:37the sugar and the salt.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41I do think breakfast cereal is a healthy option for children.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45The reason is, is because breakfast cereals contribute very little
0:21:45 > 0:21:48to daily calorie intake, salt, sugar,
0:21:48 > 0:21:50they are a good source of fibre,
0:21:50 > 0:21:53particularly if you go for the higher fibre cereals,
0:21:53 > 0:21:55and most importantly because they're fortified,
0:21:55 > 0:21:59they deliver between 15 and 25% of children's requirements
0:21:59 > 0:22:01for vitamins and minerals.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05We also spoke to the cereal manufacturers themselves.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09Kellogg's told us that over the past 12 years, they have
0:22:09 > 0:22:12"taken out 50% of salt" in their cereals.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16And they're confident that people know "there is no hidden sugar"
0:22:16 > 0:22:19in their foods because they "clearly label each pack"
0:22:19 > 0:22:22so that people can decide if they want to buy it.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25They added that products like Coco Pops have been around for
0:22:25 > 0:22:30"more than 60 years" so, by now, most people know they contain sugar.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34Meanwhile, the makers of Sugar Puffs say that from March of last year,
0:22:34 > 0:22:38they reduced the cereal's level of sugar, but point out that they
0:22:38 > 0:22:42offer a range of cereals and snacks so consumers do have a choice.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46Cereal Partners, the makers of Shreddies and other cereals,
0:22:46 > 0:22:47told us that they have
0:22:47 > 0:22:51"a commitment to make eating a healthier breakfast easier",
0:22:51 > 0:22:53and have reduced sugar content in some brands
0:22:53 > 0:22:56"by as much as 30%."
0:22:56 > 0:22:59And Dorset Cereals told us that it's important to
0:22:59 > 0:23:02distinguish between "refined sugar" and "naturally-occurring" sugars.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05They said that 90% of the sugar in their Luscious Berries
0:23:05 > 0:23:09and Cherries muesli is natural sugar from dried fruit,
0:23:09 > 0:23:12which also "adds minerals, vitamins and fibre" to your diet,
0:23:12 > 0:23:16but they also point out that they have recently reduced
0:23:16 > 0:23:18the amount of sugar in the cereal.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22This is another recipe you can use for a really nice healthy breakfast.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26But back at the cookery class, Tracey's keen to demonstrate
0:23:26 > 0:23:30that a cooked breakfast can be as much fun as a sugary one.
0:23:31 > 0:23:36What you're trying to do is keep the wall of the mushrooms secure.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38Let's get them in the oven.
0:23:39 > 0:23:40Here they come.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42And it looks like the kids in the class
0:23:42 > 0:23:45are on their way to being converted.
0:23:45 > 0:23:50I like egg, and I like cheese and I've never tried them together
0:23:50 > 0:23:52and it tastes...
0:23:52 > 0:23:53they just taste nice together.
0:23:53 > 0:23:57I probably would have it for breakfast but without the mushroom.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00So the jury is still out on the mushroom.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04But the enthusiasm for the egg will delight those who believe
0:24:04 > 0:24:06that the healthiest breakfasts for children
0:24:06 > 0:24:09don't necessarily have to come out of a box.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15Still to come on Rip Off Britain,
0:24:15 > 0:24:170%, low fat, or light.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19It may appear to be the healthier alternative,
0:24:19 > 0:24:25but when the fat's taken out, has something else been put back in?
0:24:25 > 0:24:29I tend to buy the low-fat because I'm thinking it is better for me.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31I'm not really sure that it is
0:24:31 > 0:24:33because when you look on the labels,
0:24:33 > 0:24:35there's lots of sugars.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39Of course, it's not just what you eat that determines
0:24:39 > 0:24:41how much sugar you consume, but what you drink as well.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44There was a time when barely a cuppa was brewed without
0:24:44 > 0:24:47a spoonful of sugar or three being stirred in,
0:24:47 > 0:24:49and, of course, we all know that
0:24:49 > 0:24:51many soft drinks can be loaded with sugar too.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54But what you may not realise is that even those drinks
0:24:54 > 0:24:58we assume are good for us may, in fact, be full of the white stuff.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03Take a bunch of lovely, wholesome fruit -
0:25:03 > 0:25:08a banana, some strawberries, maybe an orange.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12Whizz them all together and add, well, nothing,
0:25:12 > 0:25:17and, hey presto, you've made yourself a delicious fresh fruit smoothie.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21There can be few things that look so healthy but taste this sweet.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24And Yorkshire mother Claire Donnelly is one of the many people
0:25:24 > 0:25:26who thought smoothies were the perfect way
0:25:26 > 0:25:28of getting more fruit into your diet.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34I think smoothies are kind of sold and marketed as a healthy option.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37The children, it was one of their five-a-day,
0:25:37 > 0:25:40and I think that's quite persuasive as a mum when you're quite busy,
0:25:40 > 0:25:43and you're very conscious of getting them to consume enough fruit.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45Claire thought she'd been doing the right thing by banning
0:25:45 > 0:25:48her two young boys from drinking fizzy drinks,
0:25:48 > 0:25:53and instead encouraging them to have fruit-based drinks, like smoothies.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55Most mums that I know, we work hard to make sure
0:25:55 > 0:25:57our children eat and drink the right things,
0:25:57 > 0:26:00and I think anything containing fruit is automatically
0:26:00 > 0:26:02kind of labelled in your mind as good.
0:26:03 > 0:26:08Last year in the UK, we drank almost 70 million litres of smoothies.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10But, hold on, there's a catch.
0:26:10 > 0:26:16The reason smoothies taste so sweet is they are jam-packed with sugar -
0:26:16 > 0:26:20naturally-occurring sugar of course, rather than the added kind,
0:26:20 > 0:26:22but sugar nonetheless.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25In fact, there might be more sugar in your average smoothie
0:26:25 > 0:26:28than you think, so we decided to put it to the test.
0:26:28 > 0:26:33We hits the streets of Tunbridge Wells armed with one can of Coke,
0:26:33 > 0:26:37and a bottle of the UK's best-selling smoothie brand, Innocent,
0:26:37 > 0:26:40and we asked passers-by to drop a ball into the bowl
0:26:40 > 0:26:43behind the drink they thought had more sugar.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47- I'd probably say the smoothie. - Right.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52- The one with the most sugar. - Oh, no sugar, I think.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56It's actually the smoothie, with 34.3g per serving,
0:26:56 > 0:26:58that has more sugar.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01The Coke has 26.5g.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04- Does that surprise you? - That really surprises me.
0:27:04 > 0:27:05Actually, you're right.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08You may be surprised to learn that actually this one
0:27:08 > 0:27:10- has far more sugar in it. - Has it?- Yes.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14You're right, the smoothie has more sugar in it than the Coca Cola.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17Well, two of you are wrong and one of you is right.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20- Does that surprise you? - I got it right.- Well, why is that?
0:27:20 > 0:27:23Because sugar...
0:27:23 > 0:27:25When it's in smoothie form, it breaks down the fibre,
0:27:25 > 0:27:27which means the natural sugars from the fruit
0:27:27 > 0:27:29aren't actually good for you.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31Whereas if you had them as fruit form,
0:27:31 > 0:27:35it's better for you to have it as fruit as opposed to a smoothie.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37He's completely right.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39And in fact, more than half the people we spoke to
0:27:39 > 0:27:43did correctly guess that the smoothie was the more sugary option.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47But it's not just THIS brand of smoothie that's packed with sugar.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50In fact, one survey looked at 52 smoothies
0:27:50 > 0:27:55and 41 contained more sugar than the equivalent sized can of coke.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03When we asked Innocent about the amount of sugar in their products,
0:28:03 > 0:28:06they stressed that their smoothies are made entirely from fruit,
0:28:06 > 0:28:09and that they never add sugar.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13They said a 250ml smoothie contains the same amount
0:28:13 > 0:28:16of naturally occurring sugar as two portions of fruit
0:28:16 > 0:28:20and that research shows that the sugar in fruit drinks has
0:28:20 > 0:28:25a low glycaemic index, so is more slowly absorbed by your body.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28They added that the nutrients from the fruit mean
0:28:28 > 0:28:31one bottle counts as two of your five a day.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34But while millions of us drink smoothies
0:28:34 > 0:28:36as a way of consuming more fruit,
0:28:36 > 0:28:39some say the benefits come at a price.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43And the nation's dentists are seriously concerned
0:28:43 > 0:28:46that the drive to improve our eating habits
0:28:46 > 0:28:48may be inadvertently damaging our teeth.
0:28:48 > 0:28:53After all, it's by no means just smoothies that are surprisingly sugary.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57A 250ml glass of orange juice
0:28:57 > 0:29:00contains 25.5g of sugar -
0:29:00 > 0:29:03that's the same as six Hobnob biscuits.
0:29:03 > 0:29:06And though you probably wouldn't give your child six Hobnobs to eat,
0:29:06 > 0:29:09you might well inadvertently feed them
0:29:09 > 0:29:12the 25.5 grams of sugar in the juice.
0:29:12 > 0:29:13And back in Yorkshire,
0:29:13 > 0:29:17Clare has learnt the possible effects of all this the hard way.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20My younger son Stanley started to complain over toothache
0:29:20 > 0:29:22which I was quite surprised about,
0:29:22 > 0:29:24but he isn't a child who complains very often.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27So I knew that if he said he was in pain, he was in pain.
0:29:27 > 0:29:29So we went to see the dentist,
0:29:29 > 0:29:33and we managed to see him that day actually, who told me, to my horror,
0:29:33 > 0:29:36that he actually had quite severe tooth decay.
0:29:36 > 0:29:38It turned out, after a week of antibiotics,
0:29:38 > 0:29:40that he did need to have the tooth removed.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43So it was quite a traumatic experience for Stan,
0:29:43 > 0:29:45he was quite brave. To be fair he didn't even cry,
0:29:45 > 0:29:47but for me as a mum, it was really distressing
0:29:47 > 0:29:50because I didn't want to see him having to go through that,
0:29:50 > 0:29:54and to be honest I was really shocked it had happened,
0:29:54 > 0:29:56it wasn't something I'd have expected to happen.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59But I also felt really guilty. I felt I'd let him down, really.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02Clare had thought she had been doing her bit
0:30:02 > 0:30:04to look after her children's teeth.
0:30:04 > 0:30:08Mortified, she wanted to know what had caused the decay.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11I spoke to the dentist and the dental nurse before I left
0:30:11 > 0:30:15about how I could work with them to make sure this didn't happen again,
0:30:15 > 0:30:18so I spoke to them about the diet we had, which I thought was good.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21And it was when I spoke to them in more detail
0:30:21 > 0:30:24that they advised me about things I should have been avoiding.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27And the things I should have been avoiding were fruit juice,
0:30:27 > 0:30:28which they didn't have a great deal of,
0:30:28 > 0:30:31smoothies, which we had used a lot.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33It was having an excess of sugar, you know,
0:30:33 > 0:30:35and often that came from the drinks that children consumed.
0:30:35 > 0:30:40The British Dental Association agrees that we need to be careful
0:30:40 > 0:30:43how many fruity drinks we consume, especially between meals.
0:30:43 > 0:30:47Certainly the five-a-day message is very important
0:30:47 > 0:30:49for general health and for oral health.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52And so some of these convenient ways of doing it,
0:30:52 > 0:30:56and I think smoothies could probably be included in that,
0:30:56 > 0:30:58seems like a really good solution
0:30:58 > 0:31:01because it apparently solves the problem
0:31:01 > 0:31:06but it also potentially brings in a different problem at the same time.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11When it comes to our teeth, there is a hierarchy of sugar.
0:31:11 > 0:31:15Refined sugar added to food and drink is the worst for our gnashers.
0:31:15 > 0:31:18Most smoothies don't have any of that.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21But with so much fruit mashed together inside,
0:31:21 > 0:31:24it's the sheer concentration of all that naturally occurring sugar
0:31:24 > 0:31:27which makes them a pretty sweet mouthful.
0:31:27 > 0:31:32It's important that parents do know the quantities of sugar
0:31:32 > 0:31:36that are in smoothies, so that they can restrict that
0:31:36 > 0:31:41or balance it for their child in any given day.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43There's no problem generally with smoothies,
0:31:43 > 0:31:45but keep them to meal times,
0:31:45 > 0:31:50or keep them to as fewer episodes during the day as possible
0:31:50 > 0:31:53because then the tooth enamel is under threat
0:31:53 > 0:31:55for shorter periods of time.
0:31:55 > 0:31:59That's a message that Clare has certainly taken to heart.
0:31:59 > 0:32:03Compared to eating an apple, or eating a banana,
0:32:03 > 0:32:06the way that that fruit has been treated means
0:32:06 > 0:32:08that the sugar is now acting differently on their teeth.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11I think that's the part I was missing,
0:32:11 > 0:32:14that's the kind of education I didn't have.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18I think the assumption is because it contains fruit, it's healthy,
0:32:18 > 0:32:21but I think it's about how you're consuming that fruit
0:32:21 > 0:32:23and at the end of the day for us now,
0:32:23 > 0:32:27eating an apple after a meal is the way that we consume fruit.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35The health conscious among us wouldn't hesitate to pick up
0:32:35 > 0:32:39a low-fat or no-fat product over its full-fat counterpart.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42But every time we reach for a low-fat product,
0:32:42 > 0:32:44we could unknowingly be introducing
0:32:44 > 0:32:47surprisingly high levels of sugar into our diets.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50And that's because, when the fat is removed,
0:32:50 > 0:32:52often sugar is added for taste.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55Quite a few of you have been in touch to say that you're frustrated
0:32:55 > 0:32:58and angry with the food industry, because you feel that you're being
0:32:58 > 0:33:03misled about how healthy these low-fat and diet foods actually are.
0:33:06 > 0:33:08As you know, losing weight can be tough.
0:33:08 > 0:33:12And once you've lost the weight, keeping it off can be even harder.
0:33:14 > 0:33:18I've been dieting probably on and off for 25 years.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21Motorbike fanatic Rachel Sturman from Norfolk is a serial slimmer.
0:33:23 > 0:33:26I've tried Weight Watchers, I've tried Rosemary Conley,
0:33:26 > 0:33:28Slimming World, which I'm doing at the moment.
0:33:28 > 0:33:32I've also tried liquid diets, like Herbal Life
0:33:32 > 0:33:34and the Slim-Fast plan and the Cambridge Diet.
0:33:35 > 0:33:39Some say, look for no more than 4% fat per 100g,
0:33:39 > 0:33:43some say you can eat large quantities of certain foods
0:33:43 > 0:33:46without putting on weight and still lose weight,
0:33:46 > 0:33:48some incorporate an exercise plan.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52For years, the advice has been to cut down on fat,
0:33:52 > 0:33:54so Rachel's been buying low-fat foods
0:33:54 > 0:33:57for almost as long as she's been dieting.
0:33:57 > 0:34:01I eat a lot of low-fat yoghurts. I really enjoy fruit and yoghurt.
0:34:01 > 0:34:05I love cheese, so I do try to watch how much cheese I eat.
0:34:05 > 0:34:10I'm aware of the high fat content, so I go for the half-fat options.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13But it was only when she paid close attention to the labels
0:34:13 > 0:34:16on her shopping that Rachel noticed something surprising
0:34:16 > 0:34:20lurking behind the healthy low-fat message - sugar.
0:34:21 > 0:34:26I tend to buy the low-fat because I'm thinking it's better for me.
0:34:26 > 0:34:27I'm not really sure it is
0:34:27 > 0:34:31because when you look on the labels, there's lots of sugars.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36Take for example this Yeo Valley, fat-free natural yoghurt.
0:34:36 > 0:34:40It has a full 3 grams more sugar per pot
0:34:40 > 0:34:42than its full-fat counterpart.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46But yogurts aren't the only low-fat foods where that's the case.
0:34:46 > 0:34:51The same can be true in everything, from ready meals to biscuits.
0:34:51 > 0:34:55As the label says, these lighter digestives have 30% less fat
0:34:55 > 0:34:58than regular digestive biscuits.
0:34:58 > 0:35:02But look carefully and you'll see they also have 20% more sugar.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05And there's a simple reason why.
0:35:05 > 0:35:08The fact is that when you strip a product of fat,
0:35:08 > 0:35:12what suffers is the flavour, and in order to put the taste back in,
0:35:12 > 0:35:15well, the manufacturer packs it with sugar.
0:35:15 > 0:35:17Rachel first spotted all this
0:35:17 > 0:35:22when comparing the three versions of Philadelphia soft cheese available.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25The one with the lowest amount of fat - the Lightest variety -
0:35:25 > 0:35:28has two-thirds more sugar than the regular product,
0:35:28 > 0:35:31although this is still considered to be relatively low.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34But it was seeing this Activia yoghurt
0:35:34 > 0:35:36that prompted her to write to us.
0:35:36 > 0:35:40While it proudly says 0% fat on the label, it actually accounts
0:35:40 > 0:35:43for almost a fifth of your daily allowance of sugar -
0:35:43 > 0:35:46the equivalent of just over four teaspoons of it.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50I've been trying to lose weight for a long time,
0:35:50 > 0:35:55I've followed different plans, generally it's all around low fat.
0:35:55 > 0:36:00It bothers me that manufacturers can get away with adding sugar
0:36:00 > 0:36:03and labelling it as a diet product.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07So if you're trying to lose weight,
0:36:07 > 0:36:09what's the difference between fat and sugar?
0:36:09 > 0:36:12And is one a bigger evil than the other?
0:36:12 > 0:36:15- Hi, Rachel, how are you? - Hello, fine, thank you.
0:36:15 > 0:36:20We took Rachel to meet dietician Emer Delaney to find out.
0:36:20 > 0:36:21So when you remove a fat from a product,
0:36:21 > 0:36:25you're taking away the palatability so often it doesn't taste very well,
0:36:25 > 0:36:27so what the manufacturers will do is actually put
0:36:27 > 0:36:31a lot of sugar into the product so that it tastes quite nice.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34So whilst they are low in fat, they are also quite high in sugar.
0:36:34 > 0:36:37- Yeah.- And having too much sugar, if you're not using that energy
0:36:37 > 0:36:40and burning it off, your body will just transfer it to just fat.
0:36:40 > 0:36:42There's lots of options on the shelves -
0:36:42 > 0:36:46low fat, 0%, light, half-fat -
0:36:46 > 0:36:48what's the difference between all of these?
0:36:48 > 0:36:52These are very, very confusing for consumers.
0:36:52 > 0:36:54There isn't even any legislation
0:36:54 > 0:37:00to say a "light" product has to have X amount of sugar or fat.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04So, for example, with some biscuits you can buy,
0:37:04 > 0:37:07people think the lighter option is the best.
0:37:07 > 0:37:09But when you compare that to the original product,
0:37:09 > 0:37:11there can actually be the same amount of sugar
0:37:11 > 0:37:14in both your light and your regular products.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17Or indeed, as we found, there could actually be
0:37:17 > 0:37:20more in the low-fat varieties than the standard ones.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23So if you're trying to make sense of the labels,
0:37:23 > 0:37:27how much sugar, and fat, should you be looking for?
0:37:27 > 0:37:34Per 100 grams, how much is a good, or healthy, sugar amount?
0:37:34 > 0:37:37What you're looking for is, with sugar,
0:37:37 > 0:37:41it's 5 grams per 100 grams would be considered as low in sugar.
0:37:41 > 0:37:43So, per 100 grams, how much fat
0:37:43 > 0:37:46should we be looking for, as a healthy option?
0:37:46 > 0:37:51Something that is considered low fat is 5 grams of fat per 100 grams,
0:37:51 > 0:37:53so that's a good point to start at.
0:37:54 > 0:37:58In some cases, slightly more sugar could be a price that's worth paying
0:37:58 > 0:38:02if the amount of fat in a product has been cut to really low levels.
0:38:02 > 0:38:07And not all low-fat products are made with more sugar to compensate.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10For example, this mayonnaise, this shepherd's pie
0:38:10 > 0:38:14and this rice pudding all have a lot less fat,
0:38:14 > 0:38:18but only a little more sugar than the regular versions.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21In your opinion, would you say it's better to eat
0:38:21 > 0:38:23a full-fat option or the low-fat option?
0:38:23 > 0:38:27- Which is healthier?- That's a difficult question to answer.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29I think it very much depends on the person.
0:38:29 > 0:38:33So if somebody is trying to lose weight and they are looking at
0:38:33 > 0:38:35their overall calorie and fat and sugar intake,
0:38:35 > 0:38:38then low-fat products can have a part in their diet.
0:38:38 > 0:38:42So if I carry on eating low-fat products,
0:38:42 > 0:38:44you see that as a good thing?
0:38:44 > 0:38:46Yes, once you're choosing the right ones, absolutely.
0:38:46 > 0:38:48If there isn't a huge amount of sugar in them
0:38:48 > 0:38:52and you have found something you enjoy, that you enjoy eating,
0:38:52 > 0:38:55cos that's obviously an important part of it as well.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58And if it's low in fat and calories and sugar,
0:38:58 > 0:39:01then yeah, it's a really good option.
0:39:01 > 0:39:03We asked Philadelphia, Yeo Valley,
0:39:03 > 0:39:07and McVities why some of their low-fat products are actually
0:39:07 > 0:39:10higher in sugar than their regular counterparts.
0:39:10 > 0:39:12McVities declined to comment.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17Philadelphia and Yeo Valley told us that the sugar in their products
0:39:17 > 0:39:19isn't added sugar at all,
0:39:19 > 0:39:22but lactose - naturally occurring sugars from milk solids
0:39:22 > 0:39:25which are added to the product when the fat is taken away.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29Danone, the makers of Activia, said the same,
0:39:29 > 0:39:32while also stressing that their products are clearly labelled
0:39:32 > 0:39:35to show how much fat and sugar they contain
0:39:35 > 0:39:39and they comply with all labelling regulations.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42Finally, the makers of Philadelphia also pointed out
0:39:42 > 0:39:45that the level of sugar in their Lightest product,
0:39:45 > 0:39:48while marginally higher than the rest of the range, is still low.
0:39:51 > 0:39:53But while Rachel is now more confident
0:39:53 > 0:39:56that she can navigate the minefield of low-fat meals,
0:39:56 > 0:39:59she still reckons the labelling on some foods isn't sufficiently clear
0:39:59 > 0:40:03to stop people like her from ending up with a not-so-sweet surprise.
0:40:05 > 0:40:09If it's high in something, let's have "high" written on there.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12If it's low in something, let's have "low".
0:40:12 > 0:40:17I would like a universal system that is easy to understand.
0:40:17 > 0:40:20Sugar is sugar, at the end of a day, and I would like to see
0:40:20 > 0:40:25how much sugar I'm really having in a low-fat product.
0:40:29 > 0:40:32Here at Rip Off Britain, we're always ready to investigate
0:40:32 > 0:40:35more of your stories, and not just about food.
0:40:36 > 0:40:38Confused over your bills?
0:40:38 > 0:40:41Or just trying to wade through never-ending small print?
0:40:42 > 0:40:46I mean, why is it in small print if they want you to read it?
0:40:46 > 0:40:50Maybe you're unsure what to do when you discover you've lost out,
0:40:50 > 0:40:54and that "great deal" has ended up costing you money.
0:40:54 > 0:40:56All my money is very hard earned.
0:40:56 > 0:41:00So when I go to spend it, I expect value for money.
0:41:00 > 0:41:02Or you might have a cautionary tale of your own
0:41:02 > 0:41:05and want to share the mistakes you've made with us.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07You can write to us at...
0:41:15 > 0:41:16Or send us an email to...
0:41:21 > 0:41:25The Rip Off team is ready and waiting to investigate your stories.
0:41:27 > 0:41:32Well, I think it's clear that sugar really can play a valuable role in a balanced diet.
0:41:32 > 0:41:36But as we've heard, it's the sweet stuff added to other foods,
0:41:36 > 0:41:37that we may not even know is there,
0:41:37 > 0:41:40that can mean we end up eating more of it than we should.
0:41:40 > 0:41:43Which means it's always worth reading the label
0:41:43 > 0:41:45to see just how much sugar is in what you are buying
0:41:45 > 0:41:49even if, on the surface, you might not expect to find much there.
0:41:49 > 0:41:50You may get a bit of a shock.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53Which we have done with some of the foods we've seen in the programme.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56And just because a product may market itself as healthy,
0:41:56 > 0:41:58it is worth taking care
0:41:58 > 0:42:02to consider very carefully exactly what's in it.
0:42:02 > 0:42:04Well, that's all we have time for today.
0:42:04 > 0:42:05Do keep your stories coming,
0:42:05 > 0:42:08as we'll be back very soon to investigate more of them.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11- Until then, from us, bye-bye. - Bye-bye.