0:00:04 > 0:00:07I always thought a low-fat diet was the way to go.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10Saturated fat was always the enemy,
0:00:10 > 0:00:12because it raises your cholesterol.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16And then there was a big war on this -
0:00:16 > 0:00:18good old salt,
0:00:18 > 0:00:21because it raises your blood pressure.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24But now, it seems, something that's been innocently lurking
0:00:24 > 0:00:28in our cupboards for centuries is the new public enemy number one.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31It's sugar, and you know what?
0:00:31 > 0:00:33I don't really know why,
0:00:33 > 0:00:35so I'm going to go and find out.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39'I'm Fiona Phillips and, like most of us,
0:00:39 > 0:00:41'I love my sweet treats... Mmm.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44'..but I want to discover the latest science
0:00:44 > 0:00:47'about what sugar is really doing to us...'
0:00:47 > 0:00:49This is the part of the brain that reacts
0:00:49 > 0:00:52when you have sugary foods and sugary drinks.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56'..and why you might be eating far more than you think.'
0:00:56 > 0:00:58Oh, that is a lot of sugar.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03'I'll be uncovering how you can spot the sugar
0:01:03 > 0:01:06'in foods you'd think were sugar-free...'
0:01:06 > 0:01:09Nearly nine and a half teaspoons.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11- 20 teaspoons in that bottle. - Argh!
0:01:13 > 0:01:17'..how clever cookery can get sweet results without adding sugar...'
0:01:17 > 0:01:19And it's really delicious!
0:01:19 > 0:01:21'..and revealing the sugars
0:01:21 > 0:01:25'that even doctors say you can enjoy guilt-free.'
0:01:25 > 0:01:28- You do like oranges?- I do, yes. - LAUGHTER
0:01:28 > 0:01:30'I'm going to find out the surprising,
0:01:30 > 0:01:33'and very sticky, truth about sugar.'
0:01:33 > 0:01:35Wow!
0:01:45 > 0:01:48'We Brits love our sugar.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51'It's one of life's great pleasures.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54'And we're getting through over a million tonnes a year.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58'That's 15 teaspoons each, a day.
0:01:58 > 0:01:59'There's no getting away from it...
0:01:59 > 0:02:02'that's more than we should be eating.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08'I'm meeting up with four rather brave volunteers
0:02:08 > 0:02:09'in Newcastle.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12'I'm going to start by showing them how much sugar each of them
0:02:12 > 0:02:15'is getting through every week.'
0:02:15 > 0:02:16You've got a table each.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18See if you can pick your table out.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20You already have!
0:02:20 > 0:02:22Yeah, that's me. Sweets.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24That's terrible.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27'They all suspect that they might have too sweet a tooth,
0:02:27 > 0:02:30'and want to do something about it,
0:02:30 > 0:02:33'so I'm asking them to cut back to just six teaspoons a day,
0:02:33 > 0:02:37'a target the World Health Organization
0:02:37 > 0:02:39'believes is the best to aim at.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41'First up is Cara Patterson.'
0:02:43 > 0:02:45Here's Cara's table.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48It is predominantly brown.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50Yes. Chocolate.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Lots of chocolate. I even know that you eat chocolate for breakfast.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56I do, yes. Chocolate and coffee.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00'Cara Patterson splits her time between working at a school
0:03:00 > 0:03:03'and being home, looking after her four-year-old son, Noah.'
0:03:03 > 0:03:05Sit next to us, Mam.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07Is that an order?
0:03:07 > 0:03:10'She worries that sugar is taking over her life.'
0:03:10 > 0:03:13I'm definitely addicted to sugar.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15I crave it.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19The worst time that I want sugar is as soon as I wake up.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Breakfast always contains something sweet,
0:03:22 > 0:03:25whether it's cakes, biscuits, chocolate...
0:03:27 > 0:03:32Well, Cara, your average daily sugar intake...
0:03:32 > 0:03:34was 28 teaspoons.
0:03:34 > 0:03:3628 teaspoons a day.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38That's not good, is it?
0:03:38 > 0:03:41'So Cara's eating nearly five times
0:03:41 > 0:03:43'the six teaspoons a day target
0:03:43 > 0:03:45'that I want her to aim for.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48'This is going to mean some big changes for her.'
0:03:51 > 0:03:54Ah. You may well look nervous, Rick.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59'Rick Shabilla comes from a Sikh family
0:03:59 > 0:04:02'with a history of type-2 diabetes.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05'He worries that his love of sugary Indian sweets
0:04:05 > 0:04:08'could land him in the same boat.'
0:04:08 > 0:04:11They're so colourful and they look so innocent,
0:04:11 > 0:04:14but they are little assassins.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19You've got your Indian desserts, which we know are very high
0:04:19 > 0:04:22- in sugars.- Yeah, and these are normally accompanied
0:04:22 > 0:04:24with some ice cream.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27- Which would be adding even more sugars.- More.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29I think, Pauline, you should do the honours,
0:04:29 > 0:04:32or would you like to reveal your sugar consumption?
0:04:32 > 0:04:35- No, please.- You want Pauline to do it! OK!
0:04:35 > 0:04:38- 29 teaspoons per day.- In a day?
0:04:38 > 0:04:40- A day.- A day.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43That's really terrifying, to be honest.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46'Like Cara, Rick is also nearly five times
0:04:46 > 0:04:48'over where I want him to be.'
0:04:50 > 0:04:55'Audrey Cannon feels her weight is getting out of control.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57'A life on the road as an acquisitions manager
0:04:57 > 0:05:01'has led to a diet of processed food and sugary snacks.'
0:05:01 > 0:05:04I'll be going into meetings and things, and coming out of meetings
0:05:04 > 0:05:06and jumping straight in the car.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09It's just as easy for me to eat in the car as it is to stop off
0:05:09 > 0:05:13and have something, because I just want to get home, sometimes.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16- You're having quite a few supermarket ready meals.- Mm-hm.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18You've got a chilli beef here.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21That contains five teaspoons of sugar,
0:05:21 > 0:05:22in half the pack, which is a portion.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25I wouldn't even think to look at the sugar content.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27I would maybe look at the calories or the fat,
0:05:27 > 0:05:30but I've never ever thought of looking at sugar.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33Your average daily intake was 23 teaspoons.
0:05:33 > 0:05:34Oh, dear.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36'So, to be on target,
0:05:36 > 0:05:38'Audrey's going to have to cut
0:05:38 > 0:05:41'pretty well three quarters of the sugar from her diet.'
0:05:44 > 0:05:47'Simon Gallagher loves his fizzy pop...'
0:05:47 > 0:05:48That's so cold.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50'..but, at 26 stones,
0:05:50 > 0:05:53he's becoming increasingly worried about his health.'
0:05:53 > 0:05:57On a normal day, I'd have three or four cans of fizzy drink.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01If I'm at home, it can be pretty much any amount,
0:06:01 > 0:06:03until I feel...
0:06:03 > 0:06:05like, sick, basically,
0:06:05 > 0:06:08or until I haven't got any left.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13Simon, you're smiling now.
0:06:13 > 0:06:14Yeah, out of nerves.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18The problem is that you have a huge amount of sugar.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20As it stands, you're having
0:06:20 > 0:06:24a whopping 39 teaspoons of sugar
0:06:24 > 0:06:27- every day. That's... - Yeah, that's a lot.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30Just to reiterate,
0:06:30 > 0:06:34this is 57 kilos per year,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37or 14,000 teaspoons of sugar
0:06:37 > 0:06:41that you're putting into your body.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44'Simon is six and a half times over
0:06:44 > 0:06:48'and will have to make the biggest changes of all.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51'Although current guidelines
0:06:51 > 0:06:54'suggest we should aim at less than 12 teaspoons of sugar a day,
0:06:54 > 0:06:56'the World Health Organization thinks
0:06:56 > 0:06:58'if we can reduce this to six,
0:06:58 > 0:07:01'it would have even bigger health benefits.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04'It's going to be a tough target for my volunteers,
0:07:04 > 0:07:08'but I'm hoping the more I can learn about sugar,
0:07:08 > 0:07:10'the more I can help them cut back.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16'The sugars we need to be looking out for are known as free sugars.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19'These include the sugars found in honey,
0:07:19 > 0:07:21'syrups and fruit juices.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23'But the main culprit
0:07:23 > 0:07:27'is refined sugar we add to food.'
0:07:27 > 0:07:30'But what does refining sugar actually involve?
0:07:30 > 0:07:33'And why does it make it a potential health problem?
0:07:34 > 0:07:37'Biologist Dr Marty Jopson is going to help me find out.'
0:07:38 > 0:07:41This is one piece of sugar cane.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44- I've cut it in half. - Beautiful-looking thing.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48So it's a huge grass that grows down in the tropics.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50This stuff is packed full of sugar,
0:07:50 > 0:07:53and the way we get it out - the first thing we have to do
0:07:53 > 0:07:56is we need to break it down a bit, so here, look. Have a mallet.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58Crikey. Where do I start?
0:07:58 > 0:08:00Anywhere you want. Start at that end, OK?
0:08:04 > 0:08:05That's it.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08- OK. I think you've enjoyed that far too much.- I did, actually.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11- I'll take that away from you! - Burned all my calories off, too.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13Now what I'm going to do is give you this bowl.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15You need to come round there,
0:08:15 > 0:08:18catch the juice as it comes out of the mangle.
0:08:18 > 0:08:19Here we go.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21'Easier said than done, Marty.'
0:08:21 > 0:08:24Yep, there's some spluttering out already.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28'All sugars are natural and come from plants.'
0:08:28 > 0:08:30- Are you all right, there?!- Yeah, this is, uh...
0:08:30 > 0:08:33'Sugar cane and sugar beet are used in sugar production,
0:08:33 > 0:08:36'as they have particularly high concentrations.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40'All this refining is designed to
0:08:40 > 0:08:43'make that concentration even higher.'
0:08:43 > 0:08:46- I've safely delivered us some sugary juice down here.- OK.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56'Carbon dioxide is then used to remove impurities like wax,
0:08:56 > 0:08:58'gum and fats,
0:08:58 > 0:09:02'all with the aim of giving us pure, refined sugar.'
0:09:02 > 0:09:04That's it.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06And now we just have to boil it down.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12So what we have now...
0:09:12 > 0:09:14is a thick syrup.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18We leave that to cool and the sugar will start to crystallise out.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20And what you'll end up with is this,
0:09:20 > 0:09:22which is one I made earlier,
0:09:22 > 0:09:24- which is...- Refined sugar.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28- Refined sugar. There's a lot of treacle there, as well.- Yeah.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30- But that...- Mmm.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33- ..is incredibly sweet.- Mm.
0:09:33 > 0:09:34However,
0:09:34 > 0:09:37there's not that much of it, is there,
0:09:37 > 0:09:39considering it came from all of this bulk here,
0:09:39 > 0:09:42and all the effort it took to get it out!
0:09:42 > 0:09:43Yes, exactly.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47We're going to throw away all of this roughage and fibre,
0:09:47 > 0:09:50so what you're left with here is essentially pure calories.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53'So the refined sugar that we use at home
0:09:53 > 0:09:57'has basically had all the fibre and roughage stripped away,
0:09:57 > 0:10:00'to become pure energy.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03'And Marty wants to show me just how much energy there is
0:10:03 > 0:10:07'in the four grams of sugar that make up a level teaspoon.'
0:10:07 > 0:10:09I've taken a teaspoon
0:10:09 > 0:10:12- a level teaspoon, mind you - of icing sugar,
0:10:12 > 0:10:14and put one in each of these tubes.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16We've got two teaspoons of sugar.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18- You take those.- OK. - Put them on first.
0:10:23 > 0:10:24And what we're going to do...
0:10:24 > 0:10:26is...
0:10:26 > 0:10:29blow down these tubes. Blow, mind you.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32On three. Three, two, one.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36Wow!
0:10:36 > 0:10:38So all that energy
0:10:38 > 0:10:41in one level teaspoon of sugar.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45Exactly. That's the energy you get if you eat it as well.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47It's the same amount of energy.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51'The flames may look impressive,
0:10:51 > 0:10:54'but this energy is the real danger of sugar.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57'If you don't burn it off,
0:10:57 > 0:11:00'it can make you fat very quickly.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03'But I had no idea just how quickly.'
0:11:03 > 0:11:06- Imagine, say, you're drinking three cups of tea a day.- OK.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10- You put two teaspoons of sugar in every cup...- Yup.
0:11:10 > 0:11:11..for 365 days,
0:11:11 > 0:11:14and imagine you're also not burning off that,
0:11:14 > 0:11:18how much of my lovely fat substitute
0:11:18 > 0:11:22would you end up in your artificial belly,
0:11:22 > 0:11:25if all of your sugar that you put into your tea
0:11:25 > 0:11:27was turned into fat and it wasn't burned off?
0:11:27 > 0:11:31Six teaspoons a day for a whole year, and I didn't burn it off?
0:11:31 > 0:11:34Correct. How many of these? One of these, do you reckon?
0:11:34 > 0:11:36- One. Let's try one. - OK, let's do one.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39'Sugar is one the cheapest form of calories.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41'It's not just bad for your teeth.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44'If you have too much, your liver will end up
0:11:44 > 0:11:46'turning it into fatty acids
0:11:46 > 0:11:48'that your body will store as fat.'
0:11:48 > 0:11:51It feels really uncomfortable.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53So this is the second of my bottles.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55OK.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57More?
0:11:57 > 0:12:01- I don't want more, but if...- There is more, I'm afraid.- Oh, my goodness.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05Here we go. We're getting there. We're getting there.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11So what you've got there is four and a half kilos
0:12:11 > 0:12:14of fat - that's over half a stone.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16I know - I can feel it!
0:12:16 > 0:12:21And all because of your six teaspoons of sugar that you were having
0:12:21 > 0:12:24every day for a whole year, that were excess to what you need.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28Having a sweet tooth like that can lead to weight problems
0:12:28 > 0:12:30which could be seriously dangerous.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36'If just a few excess calories from sugar
0:12:36 > 0:12:38'can cause issues over time,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41'what have high-sugar diets done to my four volunteers?
0:12:46 > 0:12:48'At Newcastle University,
0:12:48 > 0:12:51'Professor Mike Trennel is going to find out.'
0:12:51 > 0:12:54One of the problems with sugar is it allows you to
0:12:54 > 0:12:57take large amounts of calories on very quickly,
0:12:57 > 0:12:58which can make you obese.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02'Mike uses hi-tech equipment to measure the body fat percentage
0:13:02 > 0:13:04'of my four volunteers.'
0:13:06 > 0:13:09At the moment, 51% of your body is fat.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11Really?
0:13:11 > 0:13:12Wow.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15That's a lot. It's half of my body weight.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20'All four have levels that are higher than they should be,
0:13:20 > 0:13:23'and it's this body fat that can lead to health problems.'
0:13:23 > 0:13:27Gaining weight can link to heart disease, diabetes,
0:13:27 > 0:13:29and other long-term conditions.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33'And further tests show that my volunteers
0:13:33 > 0:13:35'are already in danger.'
0:13:35 > 0:13:38The background of high sugar,
0:13:38 > 0:13:42high body fat - it's going to place more and more stress
0:13:42 > 0:13:46on your liver, on your muscles, but mainly on the pancreas.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49And over time, if you don't do something, you will be having to
0:13:49 > 0:13:52take insulin through an injection, which is what happens with people
0:13:52 > 0:13:56when they have type-2 diabetes for a long period of time.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01'And, for Simon, excess fat has led to
0:14:01 > 0:14:04'signs of a potentially fatal disease.'
0:14:06 > 0:14:10Now when your liver has too much food inside of it,
0:14:10 > 0:14:13it starts to have this long silent scream,
0:14:13 > 0:14:16which is indicating to us that you have a condition
0:14:16 > 0:14:19called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24And unless you do something, it's very likely that you are going to
0:14:24 > 0:14:25go on to develop type-2 diabetes.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30Then I'll do something.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32'Sugar doesn't directly cause conditions
0:14:32 > 0:14:35'like type-2 diabetes and liver disease,
0:14:35 > 0:14:37'but because it's so energy rich,
0:14:37 > 0:14:40'along with other carbohydrates and fat,
0:14:40 > 0:14:44'it is one of the things most likely to increase your body fat
0:14:44 > 0:14:47'and it's this fat that will do the damage.'
0:14:49 > 0:14:53'Time for my four volunteers to start cutting back.'
0:14:53 > 0:14:56I'd like you to try and get down to
0:14:56 > 0:14:59six teaspoons of sugar a day,
0:14:59 > 0:15:02which, for some of you, is going to mean
0:15:02 > 0:15:06losing 80% of what you are consuming sugar-wise, at the moment.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09It's a tough challenge, do you think you can do it?
0:15:09 > 0:15:10- Yes.- Absolutely.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13That's very positive. Good.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15'While they're finding out the reality of cutting back,
0:15:15 > 0:15:19'I'm going to be looking at three of the main sources
0:15:19 > 0:15:23'of refined sugar in their diet to see what they're up against.'
0:15:23 > 0:15:27Sweet treats - for most of us these are the biggest challenge.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30I want to uncover the science behind why we crave them.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36Savoury foods - why is the food industry putting sugar in products
0:15:36 > 0:15:38that we'd assume are completely sugar-free?
0:15:39 > 0:15:43And what is it that fizzy drinks do to our appetite
0:15:43 > 0:15:47that makes some scientists say they're the biggest problem of all?
0:15:48 > 0:15:53- # I can't think about anybody but you - Sugar
0:15:53 > 0:15:57# Sugar, I can't think about anybody but you... #
0:15:57 > 0:16:01'We eat more biscuits than any other country in Europe
0:16:01 > 0:16:04'and sweet treats are where we Brits get most of our sugar from.'
0:16:04 > 0:16:08# I can't think about anybody else but you
0:16:08 > 0:16:10# Anybody else but you. #
0:16:10 > 0:16:14'So for our volunteers these have to be the first things to go.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24'But how tough will that be?
0:16:26 > 0:16:29'It's the Sikh equivalent of Christmas Day
0:16:29 > 0:16:32'and there's a big celebration in the local temple,
0:16:32 > 0:16:35'a source of great temptation for Rick.'
0:16:37 > 0:16:40This is Guru Nanak Dev ji's Gurpurab,
0:16:40 > 0:16:44which is a celebration of the birth of our first guru.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46This is our Christmas, if you will,
0:16:46 > 0:16:50so there is a lot of sugary sweets and treats to celebrate this event.
0:16:54 > 0:16:55This is torture.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05That's "sugar" written in pretty much pure sugar,
0:17:05 > 0:17:07deep-fried and then dipped in syrup.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09It doesn't get any better,
0:17:09 > 0:17:12but also doesn't get any more cruel than that.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15'But Rick is being a good boy.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18'So far he hasn't put anything sweet on his tray.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22'But does that change the celebration?
0:17:22 > 0:17:26'Like Christmas Day without the pudding?'
0:17:26 > 0:17:29It is actually quite a... It's quite a big deal.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31It's been quite challenging.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33The guys teasing me doesn't help.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42'Meanwhile, Cara is really struggling.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46'Her husband Rob is refusing to dump the sweets treats.'
0:17:46 > 0:17:49Right, I'm just going to shove all my stuff over there
0:17:49 > 0:17:55so you've got...your stuff and I've got the stuff with less sugar in.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59'So they're arranging their cupboards into his and hers.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02'For someone who craves sugar, this is asking for trouble.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06'But Cara is determined to fight temptation.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08'She really wants to kick her sweet habit
0:18:08 > 0:18:10'for the sake of her son, Noah.'
0:18:10 > 0:18:13He's the ultimate motivation
0:18:13 > 0:18:17because I want to be around for him as he gets older.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20I don't want to be a burden. I want to be able to do things with him.
0:18:20 > 0:18:25I don't want sugar to be haunting us in 20 years' time.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29'But there is one thing that's holding Cara back -
0:18:29 > 0:18:33'cravings that she just can't beat.'
0:18:33 > 0:18:36Did cave in last night and had a bar of Galaxy.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39Erm...
0:18:39 > 0:18:40No-one knows.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43'But why do some of us, like Cara,
0:18:43 > 0:18:46'get really strong cravings for sugar?
0:18:47 > 0:18:50'I'm taking her to Reading University to find out.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55'Neuroscientists here have been studying
0:18:55 > 0:18:59'what happens to the brain when you eat sugar.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01'And to see what is going on in Cara's head,
0:19:01 > 0:19:05'she's being put into an MRI scanner that monitors brain activity.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11'Cara is given sugar in the form of a sweet drink
0:19:11 > 0:19:14'and changes in her brain are picked up by the scanner.'
0:19:18 > 0:19:21OK, so, Cara, this is an image of your brain that we just took
0:19:21 > 0:19:23when you were in the scanner.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25This is a structural image, and on this
0:19:25 > 0:19:27we can see parts of the brain
0:19:27 > 0:19:29that we know to be involved in the reward system.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31So for example, here we have the striatum,
0:19:31 > 0:19:33and this is a part of the brain that reacts
0:19:33 > 0:19:36when you have very pleasant experiences,
0:19:36 > 0:19:38like when you eat things that you really like,
0:19:38 > 0:19:40like sugary foods and sugary drinks.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44And so, if we look at this image over here,
0:19:44 > 0:19:47this time you can see the actual activity in this part.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50So that is the reward centre.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52And that's the brain saying, "Ooh, this is really, really nice.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54"Wouldn't mind some more of that."
0:19:54 > 0:19:57So Cara can happily keep feeding herself sweet things
0:19:57 > 0:19:59and the brain will make her feel better.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02What do you think, seeing this all mapped out?
0:20:02 > 0:20:03It is really interesting
0:20:03 > 0:20:08because often I crave, like, sweet things.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11But a lot of the time, no matter how much I eat of them,
0:20:11 > 0:20:13the craving's still there and I still want more.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15Yeah, we are hard-wired
0:20:15 > 0:20:19and biologically driven to seek out energy-dense foods.
0:20:19 > 0:20:24So all of us have a primeval urge to seek high-energy foods?
0:20:24 > 0:20:26- And our brains are telling us that? - Yeah.
0:20:26 > 0:20:31Everybody likes sugary, sweet things because it's a natural drive.
0:20:31 > 0:20:35What differentiates people who over-consume those foods
0:20:35 > 0:20:36from people who don't,
0:20:36 > 0:20:41we don't know what the biological differences are behind that yet.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44So are sweet things habit-forming then?
0:20:44 > 0:20:47If you have more brain activity underlying this craving
0:20:47 > 0:20:51or this reward-seeking behaviour, then you're going to repeat it,
0:20:51 > 0:20:54and that makes sense, so that is like a habit, yes.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59So, there you have it.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02That is why sugar is so hard to give up.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06We are hard-wired to enjoy it, to seek it out.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08And that was OK in ancient times, I guess,
0:21:08 > 0:21:12when food shortages meant that high-energy, sugary foods
0:21:12 > 0:21:15were literally the difference between life and death,
0:21:15 > 0:21:17but things have changed now
0:21:17 > 0:21:21and sweet, cheap, sugary foods are all around us
0:21:21 > 0:21:22and that is not good for us
0:21:22 > 0:21:25and, frankly, our DNA really isn't helping.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32'But if your brain is egging you on to have a sweet treat,
0:21:32 > 0:21:35'are there any that are better than others?'
0:21:35 > 0:21:39I am confused as to whether any of this stuff
0:21:39 > 0:21:42might be better for you than ordinary white sugar.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44Right, well, let's have a look.
0:21:44 > 0:21:45Here we go.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50'You'll often hear that honey is good for you.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54'That brown sugar is healthier than white.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57'And that maple syrup is not part of the sugar debate.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59'But what's the truth?'
0:22:00 > 0:22:03So essentially, all of these are the same.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06They are all from natural sugars from plants,
0:22:06 > 0:22:07refined in different ways.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10So it doesn't make any difference which one you use,
0:22:10 > 0:22:11it's all just sugar.
0:22:11 > 0:22:12I did not know that.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15I thought that if I put a teaspoon of honey in my tea,
0:22:15 > 0:22:18it would be much better for me than a teaspoon of white sugar.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22'Brown sugar simply has a bit of molasses in it
0:22:22 > 0:22:26'and has roughly the same calories as white, refined sugar.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29'And a level teaspoon of honey in your tea
0:22:29 > 0:22:33'will actually have more calories than a level teaspoon of sugar,
0:22:33 > 0:22:35'because it has more nutrients and is denser.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39'So there's no getting away from it.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43'None of these forms of sugar are particularly good for you.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45'But there is some better news.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50'One of the surprising truths about sugar
0:22:50 > 0:22:52'is that, if you do want a sweet treat,
0:22:52 > 0:22:55'scientists say that fruit is the answer.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00'That's because the naturally occurring sugar fruit contains
0:23:00 > 0:23:04'comes with so much goodness, like vitamins, minerals and fibre,
0:23:04 > 0:23:08'that it doesn't count towards your recommended daily allowance.'
0:23:11 > 0:23:14But sugar in supermarkets isn't just limited to sweet treats.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17It's actually in quite a few savoury products as well.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21And often with a lot more sugar than you'd think.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28I've got a bowl of pad thai noodles here.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31It's a savoury dish, obviously so...
0:23:31 > 0:23:33What do you reckon, sugar-wise?
0:23:34 > 0:23:37- About that much, I think.- If you'd like to spoon in what you think.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44- Two teaspoons of sugar in that dish? - Yes.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48OK, you're a little bit under there because in fact there are...
0:23:50 > 0:23:51Oh, stop!
0:23:53 > 0:23:56- ..nearly nine and a half teaspoons of sugar.- What?
0:23:56 > 0:23:58- That has nine and a half?- Uh-huh.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00I'm eating those things!
0:24:00 > 0:24:02That's probably more than a dessert.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07'It's not just ready meals that can have added sugar.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09'What about one of the healthier,
0:24:09 > 0:24:12'apparently savoury, breakfast cereals?'
0:24:12 > 0:24:17- So bran flakes, dry, not very appetising.- No!
0:24:17 > 0:24:19But how many teaspoons of sugar,
0:24:19 > 0:24:21if you would expect any at all to be in there?
0:24:22 > 0:24:23Er, OK.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30- One teaspoon?- Just the one, yeah.
0:24:30 > 0:24:35Just the one. OK. I can tell you that there are in fact...
0:24:37 > 0:24:39- Oh, my God.- ..three teaspoons.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42That's horrendous!
0:24:42 > 0:24:44Because I have that because I think that's the healthier choice.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48'And it doesn't end there.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51'This pack of sweet and sour chicken with rice
0:24:51 > 0:24:54'contains 12 and a half teaspoons of sugar.'
0:24:56 > 0:25:01'And there's over six teaspoons of sugar in this can of baked beans.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05'Ideally, that would be your entire sugar intake for one day.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11'I'm really surprised how much sugar
0:25:11 > 0:25:14'is in some of our supposedly savoury foods.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18'I want to know why manufacturers are adding it.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24'So I'm visiting an international research facility in Surrey
0:25:24 > 0:25:27'where scientists are employed by manufacturers
0:25:27 > 0:25:29'to help them create the perfect products.'
0:25:32 > 0:25:35So what have we got here, Alice? I presume it's soup.
0:25:35 > 0:25:36It's tomato soup
0:25:36 > 0:25:39and we've got two different recipes of tomato soup here.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42One's got no sugar in it and just a little bit of sugar in the other.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44So I'd like you to taste them, see what you think.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48OK. Right, so I'll start with this one, I think.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54Hmm. Not sure about...
0:25:59 > 0:26:03- Mmm.- That one?- Yes, that was a "Hmm..." This was an "Mmm."
0:26:03 > 0:26:05Well, that one has a little bit of sugar in it,
0:26:05 > 0:26:08which I think is interesting, because just a tiny amount
0:26:08 > 0:26:12can change the taste profile and make it taste a bit better sometimes.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14It actually tastes delicious
0:26:14 > 0:26:16and it brings out the taste of the tomatoes to me.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18That's good. That's good, it's tomato soup.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21But is that a good thing?
0:26:21 > 0:26:23Isn't that what the manufacturers are doing,
0:26:23 > 0:26:28making people like it with sugar in so they eat more, they buy more,
0:26:28 > 0:26:30but they're also getting bigger as well.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33Well, they do want to make things that people like,
0:26:33 > 0:26:35at the end of the day.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38'In fairness to the manufacturers, many are already making attempts
0:26:38 > 0:26:41'to reduce the amount of sugar in their products
0:26:41 > 0:26:45'and it certainly isn't just the case of the more sugar you put in
0:26:45 > 0:26:46'the more you'll sell.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51'Scientists here are experts at finding the precise degree
0:26:51 > 0:26:54'of sugariness which will appeal to customers,
0:26:54 > 0:26:56'the so-called bliss point.'
0:26:59 > 0:27:03Today we've got nine testers who are here behind us.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06- Sitting behind these...?- All sitting behind these little screens.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09And we have five different recipes of tomato soup,
0:27:09 > 0:27:12going from those that have very little sugar in them,
0:27:12 > 0:27:16to a little bit more, and a little bit more,
0:27:16 > 0:27:20and actually to a stage where some consumers might find it too sweet.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23And the purpose of this exercise
0:27:23 > 0:27:27is to find that recipe that the majority of them will like.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30So what other products would you test in terms of its sweetness
0:27:30 > 0:27:33- or added sugar? - Oh, a huge range of products.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36Everything from yoghurts, or cheese or milk,
0:27:36 > 0:27:38to ready meals or drinks or confectionary.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47So, Alice, our tasters have emerged from their hatches.
0:27:47 > 0:27:48They've tasted their soups.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50What happens next?
0:27:50 > 0:27:52OK, so we're here in our viewing facility.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55We can see them but they can't see us.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58This is a one-way mirror.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01So we can listen in on the sorts of things that they're saying
0:28:01 > 0:28:03about our tomato soups
0:28:03 > 0:28:07and, in a moment, they'll vote on which one they think
0:28:07 > 0:28:10has got just about the right level of sweetness in it.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14So let's start off with sample 341, please.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17Can you raise your hand if you preferred that sample?
0:28:18 > 0:28:23Oh, that's interesting. Nobody has voted for the one with no sugar.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25And 646, please?
0:28:26 > 0:28:29Four votes for the 3% sugar.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31That's the mid-range, isn't it?
0:28:31 > 0:28:33And finally what about 763?
0:28:35 > 0:28:38And two votes for the 6% sugar.
0:28:38 > 0:28:39So the 3% is the winner.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41That's the one they prefer.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45And that information for the manufacturer of a savoury food
0:28:45 > 0:28:48- is priceless really. - Absolutely. Yes.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54Well, I have to say, I'm really surprised
0:28:54 > 0:28:56that there's so much science
0:28:56 > 0:29:00behind the exact amount of sugar that's being put into our foods.
0:29:00 > 0:29:04Of course, ultimately, it's done to make the food taste nicer
0:29:04 > 0:29:08so we buy it and it's good for business.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11So the question we need to ask ourselves, really, is,
0:29:11 > 0:29:14if manufacturers started taking sugar out of foods,
0:29:14 > 0:29:17would we still buy their products?
0:29:18 > 0:29:22'All this sugar in savoury food is making life difficult
0:29:22 > 0:29:25'for acquisitions manager Audrey Cannon.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27'With such a busy lifestyle,
0:29:27 > 0:29:31'she's come to depend on fast food and ready meals.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34'But, with a history of heart disease in the family,
0:29:34 > 0:29:37'she's determined to kick the habit.'
0:29:37 > 0:29:38I've just got in from work
0:29:38 > 0:29:41and normally I would cook some processed food.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43Such as these barbecue wedges.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46And, as you can see, they've got a lot of barbecue sauce,
0:29:46 > 0:29:48but when I checked on the label,
0:29:48 > 0:29:50they had three spoonfuls of sugar in. And I was astounded.
0:29:50 > 0:29:52I didn't realise. So I'm going to make my own.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58'Trying to get her sugar consumption down
0:29:58 > 0:30:02'means Audrey is completely rethinking her food choices.'
0:30:02 > 0:30:05It's been a big wake-up call to see how much sugar is in what
0:30:05 > 0:30:07I feel are healthy foods.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10'But it's made the weekly shop a real headache.'
0:30:10 > 0:30:13I haven't really found it difficult in what I'm eating, the difficulty
0:30:13 > 0:30:16has been in what to buy, and looking at the sugar content as I've
0:30:16 > 0:30:20been going round the supermarket - that's been the biggest challenge.
0:30:20 > 0:30:24'Audrey is not the only one to struggle with food labelling.
0:30:24 > 0:30:26'I do too.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29'So how can we know when a product is high in sugar?'
0:30:31 > 0:30:35Right, there's a lot of shopping here.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38The traffic light system, which is the front of pack system, is great,
0:30:38 > 0:30:40because you can see at a glance
0:30:40 > 0:30:43if something is red, amber or green for different nutrients.
0:30:43 > 0:30:47So take for example these sweet and sour chicken dishes -
0:30:47 > 0:30:50all of these are red for sugars on the front.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54High sugar value means it has got over 22.5g
0:30:54 > 0:30:56in 100g of product.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59'Traffic lights make it easy.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02'But manufacturers aren't legally obliged to use them.
0:31:02 > 0:31:06'Some don't and some also choose to indicate the sugar content
0:31:06 > 0:31:11'of a portion rather than per 100g.'
0:31:11 > 0:31:15If you take for example this pack of Crunchy Nut Cornflakes, you do
0:31:15 > 0:31:18have some nutritional information on the front of the packet, but it's
0:31:18 > 0:31:22not colour coded so you can't see at a glance how much sugar is in that.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26'With products like this, consumers have to examine the pack
0:31:26 > 0:31:28'to find the information
0:31:28 > 0:31:31'that some dieticians argue is the most useful.'
0:31:31 > 0:31:34If you really want to see how much sugar is in this, you can look at
0:31:34 > 0:31:39the back of the pack, and here we can see that for sugars it is 35g.
0:31:39 > 0:31:45So that's high-sugar, because it contains more than 22.5g per 100g,
0:31:45 > 0:31:47so it's a sugary cereal.
0:31:47 > 0:31:51'This type of supermarket homework is particularly revealing
0:31:51 > 0:31:55'with savoury products you might have thought were sugar-free.'
0:31:55 > 0:31:59You'll see how much sugar it contains - 22.8g per 100g.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02So it is a high-sugar product.
0:32:02 > 0:32:04Something that you would have on your chips
0:32:04 > 0:32:06which you wouldn't associate with sugar.
0:32:06 > 0:32:08Yes, something you'd think of as savoury.
0:32:08 > 0:32:13'With some products labelled per 100g and some per portion
0:32:13 > 0:32:16'and not everyone using the traffic light system, I want to know why
0:32:16 > 0:32:21'food manufacturers aren't making sugar content much easier for us.
0:32:21 > 0:32:25'So I'm off to see the Food and Drink Federation,
0:32:25 > 0:32:27'which represents the industry.'
0:32:27 > 0:32:32Do you think if all food producers were made to adhere to
0:32:32 > 0:32:36the traffic light system it would help? Because that to me
0:32:36 > 0:32:39is clearer than all the other systems that exist.
0:32:39 > 0:32:43I don't think there is a single solution to a problem
0:32:43 > 0:32:46such as obesity, that is so complex.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49But the traffic light system would help, because
0:32:49 > 0:32:52if you see red next to sugar content that would make me put it down.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55The information that is available on pack,
0:32:55 > 0:33:00whether it's through the Reference Intake values, whether it's
0:33:00 > 0:33:03through the traffic light system, is clear and is accurate.
0:33:03 > 0:33:08Do you not think it would not be a whole lot clearer if the packet
0:33:08 > 0:33:13showed how many teaspoons of sugar? Then everyone would understand it.
0:33:13 > 0:33:19The reason for the amount of sugar to be labelled per 100g
0:33:19 > 0:33:21or per portion in grams,
0:33:21 > 0:33:25is in the Food Information for Consumers Regulation,
0:33:25 > 0:33:28where all nutrients are treated the same
0:33:28 > 0:33:31and a gram is a very well recognised unit.
0:33:31 > 0:33:34When if you talk about teaspoons or tablespoons,
0:33:34 > 0:33:37would you think four, five, six grams?
0:33:41 > 0:33:47Well, it very firmly seems as though all the regulation,
0:33:47 > 0:33:49all the information on the packets, most of which most of us
0:33:49 > 0:33:53can't make much sense of, is all there for a reason.
0:33:53 > 0:33:57It's to educate us and make sure we make the right choices.
0:33:57 > 0:34:01But in the end the responsibility is all left to us
0:34:01 > 0:34:04and I don't think, with the amount of sugar
0:34:04 > 0:34:08they're putting in some foodstuffs, that that...is right.
0:34:08 > 0:34:09I really don't.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12I think that more onus should be taken by the manufacturers.
0:34:16 > 0:34:18'Added sugar in processed food
0:34:18 > 0:34:21'means the best way ready-meal aficionado Audrey
0:34:21 > 0:34:25'can get her sugar intake down to just six teaspoons a day
0:34:25 > 0:34:27'is to cook everything from scratch.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34'But, after a day on the road, it's a daunting prospect.'
0:34:35 > 0:34:39The time's about half past six and I've just got in from work
0:34:39 > 0:34:44and I've now got to think about what I'm going to have for tea.
0:34:44 > 0:34:47So I'm feeling a bit sort of frustrated
0:34:47 > 0:34:49that I can't just come in and cook something easy,
0:34:49 > 0:34:54I've got to prepare and think about it and have plenty of ingredients in the house,
0:34:54 > 0:34:59when really all I want to do is come in, have my tea and sit and chill.
0:35:00 > 0:35:03'But is there a way for Audrey to have the taste advantages
0:35:03 > 0:35:06'of sugar in savoury food in a healthier way
0:35:06 > 0:35:09'and without too much hard work?
0:35:10 > 0:35:13'I've set nutritionist Christine Bailey this challenge.'
0:35:13 > 0:35:17Audrey, you're partial to the odd ready meal, aren't you?
0:35:17 > 0:35:19So what tips have you got first of all
0:35:19 > 0:35:23about supermarket ready meals, what to avoid?
0:35:23 > 0:35:26Well, as you know, a lot of them contain sugar, but particularly
0:35:26 > 0:35:30I would say the shop-bought sauces, things like the tomato ketchups,
0:35:30 > 0:35:34the sweet chilli sauce, baked beans and sweet and sour sauce.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37'The answer it seems is fruit.
0:35:37 > 0:35:41'Remember, sugar in fruit doesn't count towards your daily allowance.
0:35:41 > 0:35:45'So we're cooking a sweet and sour sauce using the natural sweetness
0:35:45 > 0:35:49'of chunks of pineapple to replace refined sugar.
0:35:50 > 0:35:55'And, to give it more kick without the calories, just add spices.'
0:35:55 > 0:35:59So we're going to actually add... I've got here some chilli,
0:35:59 > 0:36:02some garlic, you're doing the ginger.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05I'm going to use some onion as well.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08And I'm also going to add some Chinese five spice, which has
0:36:08 > 0:36:12a lovely sort of Oriental flavour to it.
0:36:13 > 0:36:14Throw in some onion, pepper
0:36:14 > 0:36:19and soya sauce and we have a low-sugar sweet sauce
0:36:19 > 0:36:22to which we could later add a bit of chicken or maybe prawns.
0:36:24 > 0:36:26Mmm, that is delicious.
0:36:26 > 0:36:30You could use that as a ketchup alternative.
0:36:30 > 0:36:34Audrey, you and your busy life, this is simple, isn't it?
0:36:34 > 0:36:37It is, because I could have this ready and then just cook the chicken when I get home.
0:36:37 > 0:36:41- Just boil some rice, easy.- Or you could bulk-cook it, couldn't you,
0:36:41 > 0:36:45- and put batches...freeze it, whip it out when you get home.- Yep.
0:36:45 > 0:36:48'For Audrey it's problem solved.'
0:36:48 > 0:36:51- Mmm!- Nice, eh?- Gosh, that tastes sweet as well.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54No wonder you're smiling!
0:36:54 > 0:36:57- I can't wait to get home and try it. - It is really delicious.
0:37:02 > 0:37:06There's another source of sugar, though, that many of us enjoy.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09It's this, fizzy drinks.
0:37:09 > 0:37:13Is drinking sugar the same as eating it?
0:37:13 > 0:37:16Well, according to some scientists the answer is no.
0:37:17 > 0:37:21'Drinks can have a shocking amount of sugar in them and they are one of
0:37:21 > 0:37:25'the quickest and easiest ways to see your sugar consumption soar.'
0:37:28 > 0:37:31I've got a bottle of ginger beer here for you.
0:37:31 > 0:37:32Ooh, my favourite.
0:37:32 > 0:37:34- It's your favourite, is it?- Yes.
0:37:34 > 0:37:39I want you to put the number of teaspoons
0:37:39 > 0:37:43you think are in this ginger beer into that little pot, please.
0:37:51 > 0:37:52That's eight teaspoons?
0:37:52 > 0:37:54- Eight.- That is a lot.
0:37:54 > 0:37:58- I know, but... - But it's nowhere near, actually.
0:37:58 > 0:37:59You're kidding!
0:37:59 > 0:38:03HE LAUGHS I have that every week.
0:38:05 > 0:38:06It's no laughing matter.
0:38:06 > 0:38:07It is!
0:38:09 > 0:38:11Oh! You're kidding!
0:38:11 > 0:38:13I'm not kidding.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16- 20 teaspoons in that bottle. - Ugghhhh!
0:38:16 > 0:38:19Don't pass out on me, please.
0:38:19 > 0:38:20Fantastic!
0:38:20 > 0:38:23That's not fantastic!
0:38:24 > 0:38:26'And that's not all.
0:38:26 > 0:38:30'This 1.5 litre bottle of strawberry-flavoured water
0:38:30 > 0:38:34'contains 18 teaspoons of sugar.
0:38:34 > 0:38:40'This 750ml bottle of elderflower sparking water, 13 teaspoons.
0:38:40 > 0:38:46'And this half-litre bottle of sports drink, 15 teaspoons of sugar.
0:38:46 > 0:38:50'Most orange juice doesn't have any added sugar
0:38:50 > 0:38:54'but it still counts towards your daily allowance.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57'When you juice a fruit you're getting most of the sugar
0:38:57 > 0:38:59'without much of the fibre or bulk.
0:38:59 > 0:39:02'So a glass of juice can be packed with far more sugar
0:39:02 > 0:39:04'than you might think.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08'But how aware of we are this?'
0:39:09 > 0:39:12I would like you to ladle into my little bowl there
0:39:12 > 0:39:16the number of teaspoons of sugar you think might be in this drink.
0:39:16 > 0:39:18OK.
0:39:18 > 0:39:20Well, definitely this one.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23I want to say it's healthy because it's juice
0:39:23 > 0:39:24but I know there is sugar in juice.
0:39:28 > 0:39:29Two teaspoons of sugar.
0:39:30 > 0:39:33Four, four and a half, five?
0:39:33 > 0:39:35OK, two.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38I can tell you it is...
0:39:38 > 0:39:40Oh!
0:39:40 > 0:39:44- No!- I'm afraid so.
0:39:44 > 0:39:45Come on!
0:39:45 > 0:39:48Oh, dear! oh, dear!
0:39:48 > 0:39:50There's about...
0:39:50 > 0:39:53just over eight teaspoons in there.
0:39:53 > 0:39:55Gosh, that's an awful lot.
0:39:55 > 0:39:58Unbelievable.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01- Would you pick that up now, do you think?- No chance!
0:40:01 > 0:40:05'But when it comes to sugar, what is the difference between
0:40:05 > 0:40:09'eating oranges and drinking orange juice?
0:40:09 > 0:40:12'Well, it has a lot to do with the amount of sugar you can consume
0:40:12 > 0:40:15'in a very short time.
0:40:15 > 0:40:18'I'm back to meet Marty to find out more.'
0:40:18 > 0:40:22Meggy, in front of you you have a litre of orange juice, which is
0:40:22 > 0:40:26made from 12 oranges, and in front of you, Kanika, we have 12 oranges.
0:40:26 > 0:40:30And what we want you to do is we want you to eat or drink
0:40:30 > 0:40:33what is in front of you, as much as you can... It's not a race.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36We just want you to eat or drink
0:40:36 > 0:40:39until you feel... you've had enough. OK?
0:40:39 > 0:40:42- Are you ready?- Yes.- Away you go.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48- You do like oranges? - I do, yes.
0:40:59 > 0:41:03- I can't do any more, actually. - You're done?- You're full, yeah?
0:41:03 > 0:41:06- And Meggy's still going. - Meggy's still going.
0:41:06 > 0:41:11So, Meggy, you have drunk three- quarters of a litre of orange juice.
0:41:11 > 0:41:13And Kanika, you've had...
0:41:13 > 0:41:16- One and a half. - One and a half oranges.
0:41:16 > 0:41:18So what does that mean?
0:41:18 > 0:41:20What does that actually mean?
0:41:20 > 0:41:25Well, Meggy, you have just drunk approximately 18 teaspoons of sugar.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28- Wow. OK.- OK?
0:41:28 > 0:41:30Whereas you have had three,
0:41:30 > 0:41:34maybe three and a half, teaspoons of sugar in that.
0:41:34 > 0:41:38And the reason that you've managed to eat less
0:41:38 > 0:41:40is because the orange is full of fibre as well,
0:41:40 > 0:41:43it is chock full of fibre and it's got two things it does.
0:41:43 > 0:41:45First of all it keeps you satisfied,
0:41:45 > 0:41:48it fills you up much more than the orange juice does.
0:41:48 > 0:41:52The thing is, you can't eat as much oranges as you can orange juice.
0:41:52 > 0:41:56- I mean, you couldn't eat 12 oranges in a day.- No.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59And the second thing it does is it actually makes the sugar that
0:41:59 > 0:42:03you have eaten release very slowly into your blood.
0:42:03 > 0:42:08OK, so there are benefits. Despite the fact that fruit has sugar in it
0:42:08 > 0:42:10there are benefits to eating fruit.
0:42:10 > 0:42:14Definitely. Fruit is full of fibre, vitamins, it's great for you.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18Fruit juice on the other hand, in moderation it's good for you,
0:42:18 > 0:42:20but just be aware of the sugar that's in it.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24'So, without realising it, not only has Meggy managed to drink
0:42:24 > 0:42:28'five times the sugar that Kanika has eaten,
0:42:28 > 0:42:32'it will get into her blood stream super-fast, causing a sugar rush.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43'The Copper Box Arena in London's Olympic Park.
0:42:43 > 0:42:47'Two netball teams are helping us with a fascinating experiment which
0:42:47 > 0:42:49'gets to the very heart of the truth
0:42:49 > 0:42:52'about sugary drinks - their effect on appetite.
0:42:54 > 0:42:58'Some drinks can have as many calories in them as a meal.
0:42:58 > 0:43:00'But will these liquid sugar calories
0:43:00 > 0:43:02'fill you up like eating food will?
0:43:05 > 0:43:09'Dr Jason Gill from the University of Glasgow Medical School
0:43:09 > 0:43:11'is going to help me find out.'
0:43:12 > 0:43:14So what's the experiment about, Jason?
0:43:14 > 0:43:17OK, the experiment today is all about sugar in drinks.
0:43:17 > 0:43:21We have two netball teams here. We're going to give one of them a drink with sugar after the game
0:43:21 > 0:43:24and give the other group a sugar-free version of the same drink.
0:43:24 > 0:43:28And then we're going to give them an all-you-can-eat buffet and see how much they choose to eat at that.
0:43:28 > 0:43:32OK, I would guess that the team that's given the drink
0:43:32 > 0:43:35with sugar in would therefore eat less food.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38That's what you'd think. We'll see whether that is actually the case.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41Do they eat fewer calories because they've already consumed
0:43:41 > 0:43:43- some calories in their drink beforehand?- OK.
0:43:46 > 0:43:48So we've got the red ones for the red team
0:43:48 > 0:43:51and the blue ones for the blue team, and all I want you to do
0:43:51 > 0:43:55is take a bottle and drink all of it before you leave the court.
0:43:55 > 0:43:57So, if you'd like to help yourself.
0:44:00 > 0:44:05'What the red team doesn't know is that they're guzzling sugary
0:44:05 > 0:44:08'blackcurrant squash, which is packed full of calories.
0:44:08 > 0:44:13'The blue team, equally unknowing, are drinking no calories at all.
0:44:13 > 0:44:17'But will the red team, consuming all those extra calories
0:44:17 > 0:44:20'through drink, eat less than the team that has had zero?
0:44:26 > 0:44:30'When the girls have had their fill they're asked to leave the room.
0:44:32 > 0:44:35'And while they're out we carefully weigh everything left on the table
0:44:35 > 0:44:40'to calculate the amount of calories each team has consumed.
0:44:42 > 0:44:44'They're in for a shock.'
0:44:44 > 0:44:46We gave you these two drinks beforehand
0:44:46 > 0:44:50but you didn't know that this drink had sugar in it
0:44:50 > 0:44:53and this drink was a sugar-free version of the same drink.
0:44:53 > 0:44:56LAUGHTER
0:44:56 > 0:44:58And then we had you at this buffet
0:44:58 > 0:45:00and we weighed out all the food beforehand and weighed out what
0:45:00 > 0:45:04you had at the end and we calculated how many calories you consumed.
0:45:04 > 0:45:09And this table consumed 1,000 calories more in total
0:45:09 > 0:45:12than this table. LAUGHTER
0:45:16 > 0:45:19And that is entirely because of the sugar content in the drink,
0:45:19 > 0:45:20that's the difference?
0:45:20 > 0:45:23Yeah, the difference is the sugar in the drink.
0:45:23 > 0:45:25So when you drink the sugar in the drink, you consume
0:45:25 > 0:45:28the calories easily, but your body doesn't really sense them very well
0:45:28 > 0:45:30so they don't make you feel full,
0:45:30 > 0:45:33so when you go to eat you don't eat any less food because the calories
0:45:33 > 0:45:36don't make you feel full from the drink you had beforehand.
0:45:36 > 0:45:38So what does that mean in terms of obesity?
0:45:38 > 0:45:41Well, we know that sugar-sweetened drinks are a big determinant
0:45:41 > 0:45:43of obesity - the fact that you're drinking
0:45:43 > 0:45:46lots of these drinks is one of the big things responsible
0:45:46 > 0:45:49for the fact that we're all getting fatter, particularly children.
0:45:51 > 0:45:53'People who have lots of sugar
0:45:53 > 0:45:56'in their diets do tend to put on weight.
0:45:56 > 0:45:59'And that's partly because the calories in sugary things,
0:45:59 > 0:46:03'especially sugary drinks, aren't the best for making you feel full.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06'So you're more likely to carry on eating
0:46:06 > 0:46:09'and therefore take on more calories.
0:46:11 > 0:46:15'Simon used to down up to seven cans of fizzy drink a day
0:46:15 > 0:46:19'and the calories in them have been a contributing factor to him
0:46:19 > 0:46:22'developing fatty liver disease.
0:46:22 > 0:46:26'He's been trying to go cold turkey and not drink any fizzy pop
0:46:26 > 0:46:31'at all, but he appears to be having withdrawal symptoms.'
0:46:31 > 0:46:33I have been a bit more tired than usual
0:46:33 > 0:46:36but I expect that's probably more likely to do with the fact that
0:46:36 > 0:46:42I'm not wired permanently from sugar, which I was, clearly.
0:46:43 > 0:46:46I feel a little bit on edge at the minute.
0:46:46 > 0:46:48Twitchy, sort of...
0:46:49 > 0:46:50Yeah.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54My attention span isn't as..
0:46:55 > 0:46:56..good...
0:46:56 > 0:47:00'And Simon isn't alone with his habit.
0:47:00 > 0:47:05'Your average Brit gets through 50 litres of sugary drink in a year.
0:47:05 > 0:47:08'So I'm back at Leatherhead Food Lab
0:47:08 > 0:47:10'to see what that really means
0:47:10 > 0:47:13'and whether there's an alternative.
0:47:15 > 0:47:19'This is what 50 litres of water looks like.
0:47:19 > 0:47:21'And this is the amount of sugar you have to add
0:47:21 > 0:47:24'to make it as sweet as your average soft drink -
0:47:24 > 0:47:27'nearly 5.5 kilos.'
0:47:27 > 0:47:29SHE GASPS
0:47:29 > 0:47:31Crikey.
0:47:33 > 0:47:37Oh, my goodness me, all that sugar.
0:47:48 > 0:47:51- Yeah, that is sweet. - Very sweet.
0:47:51 > 0:47:52Hmm.
0:47:52 > 0:47:55I feel it sticking to my teeth, yes, that is sweet.
0:47:58 > 0:48:03'We're going to swap that tub of water for another one.
0:48:03 > 0:48:07'Now let's try an experiment.'
0:48:07 > 0:48:09OK, so we have the same amount of water here
0:48:09 > 0:48:15and I'm going to put in 10g of this artificial sweetener,
0:48:15 > 0:48:18Sucralose, so I'll chuck it in and we'll see what it tastes like.
0:48:18 > 0:48:19Chuck it in.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27OK, all of it's in. That's mixing up.
0:48:27 > 0:48:31Right, Alice, it's time for us to taste this strange concoction now.
0:48:31 > 0:48:33That's yours.
0:48:36 > 0:48:37Right.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44- Gosh, that's definitely as sweet as the sugar one.- Yeah.
0:48:44 > 0:48:48And yet all that sugar that went into the other one,
0:48:48 > 0:48:515.4 kilos, and 10 grams of your artificial sweeteners.
0:48:51 > 0:48:5310 grams of the Sucralose.
0:48:53 > 0:48:58That's because it's 500 times sweeter than the sugar that we used.
0:48:58 > 0:49:01But the only thing that would make alarm bells ring
0:49:01 > 0:49:05with a lot of people is it's an artificial sweetener.
0:49:05 > 0:49:08Along with artificial sweeteners comes all sorts of stories,
0:49:08 > 0:49:10links to ill-health...
0:49:10 > 0:49:11Well, it is a sweetener,
0:49:11 > 0:49:17but all sweeteners are rigorously tested and very tightly regulated.
0:49:17 > 0:49:19They are tested and tested and tested
0:49:19 > 0:49:23and it takes years to develop a sweetener for use in food.
0:49:23 > 0:49:27So we have to be very sure that they are safe to use in food
0:49:27 > 0:49:29before we'd be allowed to use them.
0:49:29 > 0:49:32'Artificial sweeteners undergo meticulous testing
0:49:32 > 0:49:35'by scientists, which is then reviewed
0:49:35 > 0:49:38'by the European Food Safety Authority
0:49:38 > 0:49:40'before they can be used in food and drink.
0:49:40 > 0:49:44'And leading scientific groups like Cancer Research UK
0:49:44 > 0:49:48'say there's strong evidence that they are safe for humans.
0:49:49 > 0:49:51'Although the debate rages on,
0:49:51 > 0:49:54'the science seems to indicate that the 20,000 calories
0:49:54 > 0:49:58'consumed by the average Brit in a year from sugary drinks
0:49:58 > 0:50:01'are much more likely to cause you health issues
0:50:01 > 0:50:04'than a tiny amount of replacement sweetener.
0:50:10 > 0:50:14'Our four volunteers are reaching the end of their low-sugar diet.
0:50:14 > 0:50:18'And they're coming up with their own solutions.
0:50:18 > 0:50:23'Former fizzy-drink junkie Simon has been trying out fruit teas
0:50:23 > 0:50:27'and flavouring water with large chunks of fruit.
0:50:29 > 0:50:32'Eventually, through trial and error, he's made the breakthrough.'
0:50:34 > 0:50:39Lemon, mint - it is really, really refreshing.
0:50:39 > 0:50:44It tastes like a sensation compared with normal water.
0:50:44 > 0:50:46'Just by cutting out the fizzy drinks
0:50:46 > 0:50:49'Simon has dramatically reduced
0:50:49 > 0:50:53'his sugar intake and he thinks he can feel the benefits already.'
0:50:56 > 0:50:59When your pants are falling down in public, that's a good sign
0:50:59 > 0:51:02that you've lost weight, and that has happened.
0:51:02 > 0:51:07'Audrey has become the home-cooking queen, preparing everything
0:51:07 > 0:51:10'she eats from scratch and using the internet to track down more
0:51:10 > 0:51:15'sugar-free fast food, like do-it-yourself hummus.'
0:51:15 > 0:51:17Basically, you just open a can of chickpeas,
0:51:17 > 0:51:19add a few things to it and put it in a blender.
0:51:21 > 0:51:23Totally home-made hummus.
0:51:23 > 0:51:25And it's absolutely delicious.
0:51:25 > 0:51:28- What do you think?- Looking slim. - No sugar.
0:51:28 > 0:51:30'Rick is doing well.
0:51:30 > 0:51:34'He has completely stopped eating sugary treats during the day
0:51:34 > 0:51:38'but is consoling himself with a bit more night-time cheer,
0:51:38 > 0:51:41'relaxing down the pub over a couple of pints
0:51:41 > 0:51:46'and hoping he'll still make the grade.'
0:51:46 > 0:51:47Are you eating your rice?
0:51:47 > 0:51:51'And self-confessed sugar addict Cara?
0:51:51 > 0:51:54'She's cut out the biscuits, the cake and sweets
0:51:54 > 0:51:56'through sheer willpower.'
0:51:56 > 0:52:00There is going to be things that come up, like Noah's birthday,
0:52:00 > 0:52:03when I'm going to have cake and I'm going to have sweet stuff,
0:52:03 > 0:52:05but I can deal with those days now,
0:52:05 > 0:52:09whereas before it would have been every day rather than just one day.
0:52:12 > 0:52:17'After six weeks, our low-sugar experiment is over
0:52:17 > 0:52:20'and my volunteers are back at Newcastle University
0:52:20 > 0:52:23'for the same series of tests they had at the start.
0:52:24 > 0:52:28'Rick has gone from eating 29 teaspoons of sugar a day
0:52:28 > 0:52:32'to seven, narrowly missing out on his six-a-day target
0:52:32 > 0:52:35'but still well within current guidelines.'
0:52:35 > 0:52:37Step on the scale for me.
0:52:37 > 0:52:42'Cara, however, is down from 28 teaspoons a day to just three.
0:52:42 > 0:52:48'Audrey, from 23 teaspoons to a quarter of a teaspoon.
0:52:49 > 0:52:54'And Simon has gone from a massive 39 teaspoons of sugar a day
0:52:54 > 0:52:57'to just a quarter of a teaspoon.
0:52:59 > 0:53:04'All four were at risk of heart disease and type-2 diabetes.
0:53:07 > 0:53:11'So what has their new low-sugar regime done to their health?
0:53:15 > 0:53:19'Cara and Audrey's results are very similar.'
0:53:19 > 0:53:22The headline of it all is that you've lost
0:53:22 > 0:53:27- just over six kilos in weight, or just over a stone.- Right.
0:53:27 > 0:53:30So you've lost about five kilos, which is nearly a stone,
0:53:30 > 0:53:32- so well done! - Thank you.
0:53:32 > 0:53:36The changes that you have made to your diet by reducing sugar
0:53:36 > 0:53:39have substantially reduced your risk of conditions like heart disease
0:53:39 > 0:53:43and type-2 diabetes, as well as the wonderful things
0:53:43 > 0:53:45it's done for your metabolism.
0:53:45 > 0:53:49When you first came through we were looking quite a lot at
0:53:49 > 0:53:53how your body was processing the sugar, and I'm pleased to be able to
0:53:53 > 0:53:56tell you that, from the blood sugar results that we've taken, you've
0:53:56 > 0:54:01improved hugely, which is relieving a lot of the stress on your pancreas.
0:54:01 > 0:54:05'So Cara and Audrey have dramatically improved their health
0:54:05 > 0:54:07'by cutting back on sugar.
0:54:07 > 0:54:11'Rick, however, despite not eating any Indian sweets,
0:54:11 > 0:54:14'hasn't lost any weight at all.'
0:54:14 > 0:54:17Rick, you have substantially reduced the amount of sugar
0:54:17 > 0:54:21you take in from 29 spoonfuls down to seven,
0:54:21 > 0:54:25but at that same time you have increased your alcohol intake
0:54:25 > 0:54:29and so any benefits that you would have had from reducing your sugar
0:54:29 > 0:54:32are taken away because you're taking in more alcohol.
0:54:32 > 0:54:34Got it, yeah.
0:54:34 > 0:54:38'The volunteer Mike was most concerned about was Simon.
0:54:38 > 0:54:42'He was showing signs of potentially fatal fatty liver disease.
0:54:42 > 0:54:45'His challenge was the greatest of all.'
0:54:47 > 0:54:51You've managed to lose just over six kilos, which is just over a stone.
0:54:51 > 0:54:53- Good.- Well done.
0:54:53 > 0:54:57Now, I'm pleased to tell you that the markers we had for
0:54:57 > 0:55:02- fatty liver disease have gone down by 40 to 70 per cent.- Good.
0:55:02 > 0:55:04That's more than good!
0:55:04 > 0:55:06Yes, that was the most concerning thing.
0:55:06 > 0:55:08And I couldn't be prouder of you. Well done.
0:55:08 > 0:55:10Thanks very much.
0:55:19 > 0:55:21'It's been a huge challenge.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26'But for all four of our volunteers
0:55:26 > 0:55:31'it's just the start of a whole new lifestyle.'
0:55:31 > 0:55:32I'm really proud of myself
0:55:32 > 0:55:36and I'm definitely going to continue with it.
0:55:36 > 0:55:40I feel now that I've kind of sickened myself with sweet stuff.
0:55:40 > 0:55:42It seems bizarre
0:55:42 > 0:55:45but is it worth risking my health for a bar of chocolate?
0:55:48 > 0:55:54Yes, you can socialise, be a Sikh, be an Indian, be a Geordie
0:55:54 > 0:55:56and cut out the sugar.
0:55:56 > 0:55:59You've just got to be a little bit more aware
0:55:59 > 0:56:02and not give in to the peer and social pressures that are there,
0:56:02 > 0:56:05which is something I really need to do.
0:56:06 > 0:56:10Obviously I have a long way to go but, because the first steps are
0:56:10 > 0:56:14the most difficult ones, I'm already moving that way so I'll continue.
0:56:15 > 0:56:20If you come back in a year's time I'll be half the man I am now.
0:56:21 > 0:56:23I've actually gone down two dress sizes.
0:56:23 > 0:56:26I don't mind going shopping and buying new clothes.
0:56:26 > 0:56:29I have no problem putting them in the charity bag
0:56:29 > 0:56:31because I'm never going to wear them again
0:56:31 > 0:56:33because I'm never going to be like that again.
0:56:37 > 0:56:41The truth about sugar is that it can pile on the pounds
0:56:41 > 0:56:42frighteningly quickly.
0:56:42 > 0:56:46And all that extra weight can lead to a whole host
0:56:46 > 0:56:48of very serious health problems.
0:56:48 > 0:56:53It isn't the only culprit - too much of most foods will make you fat.
0:56:53 > 0:56:57But I think sugar is the thing many of us tend
0:56:57 > 0:57:01to binge on. Your body craves it and it often doesn't fill you up.
0:57:03 > 0:57:06While most things, we know, are OK in moderation,
0:57:06 > 0:57:11with sugar we really do seem to be hard-wired for excess.
0:57:11 > 0:57:17So, sorry, but this time you really can't have your cake and eat it.
0:57:21 > 0:57:24'Next time, the surprising truth about calories.
0:57:24 > 0:57:29'We'll reveal why the numbers on the packet are often wrong.
0:57:29 > 0:57:31'And how you can cut calories
0:57:31 > 0:57:35'without cutting out your favourite treats.'
0:57:35 > 0:57:40# I want a little sugar in my bowl
0:57:42 > 0:57:49# I want a little sweetness down in my soul
0:57:49 > 0:57:55# I could stand some loving, oh, so bad... #