While consumers are being encouraged to cut back on the amount of sugar they eat, dental experts say: it’s not the just amount but also the frequency that matters. Also, new healthier sugars are on the horizon.
27 January, 2016, Basel - Eating too much sugar, says WHO, may lead to dental problems or obesity which can cause heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
Not all experts agree to this, however.
„The new WHO guidelines are too simplified“, says Dr. Albert Bär of Toothfriendly International. „Sugar is not bad by definition, but the way some people consume certain sugars is bad for health“, he states.
For starters, there is no such thing as the sugar. Sugar in the chemical sense of the word stands for a number of substances with similar chemical characteristics but widely different physiological properties in terms of bioavailable calories, dental properties, glycemic effect as well as absorption from the gut.
The energy value of different sugars varies from about 0.5-4 kcal/g, the glycemic index from 0-100%, the sweetness from 20% to 100% (sucrose as a reference). In other words, a number of sugars with widely differing properties are encompassed by the chemical term „sugars“.
In its guidelines, WHO does not take into consideration various types of sugar but rather talks about free sugars. They are defined by the WHO Nutrition Guidance Advisory Group as follows: Free sugars include monosaccharides and disaccharides added to foods by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, and sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit.
According to Dr. Bär, the WHO report quite wrongly evokes in the consumers mind that everything that is sugar chemically is equally bad nutritionally. Ignoring the differences between sugars, with regard to both nutritional effects and health effects, i.e. the lumping together of all sugars in the category of „sugars“ for the purpose of nutritional labelling, further cements a wrong perception and indeed misleads consumers about the food they eat.
Also, the term free sugars is problematic as it stipulates a general difference between naturally occurring and industrially added sugars for which there is little if any evidence.
„Furthermore, the WHO report relies completely on the amount of sugar, not the frequency of sugar intake“, critizises Dr. Bär. „ From dental perspective, this is not the whole truth: teeth are rather effected by the frequency of sugar consumption than by the sheer amount. Sipping a soda throughout the afternoon is more harmful than drinking the whole can at one go.“
According to Dr. Bär, either sugar bashing in the media nor a sugar tax will change bad dietary habits significantly, and particularly not in those segments of the population who would need it most. Changing behavioral habits is achieved in the first place by proper and balanced information. Reducing sugar in certain foods may help reduce total intake somewhat but it will never have the same impact as information mediated and emotion driven modification of eating habits will have.
“We need positive campaigns which highlight the healthier alternatives“, suggests Dr. Bär. “And the food industry should be seen as a partner, not the villain.“