While most of us happily consume anything that says “sugar-free”, assuming that it doesn’t have sugar at all, what we don’t realise is that “sugar-free” doesn’t mean ‘no sugar’. AdvertisingPune-based diabetes researcher Dr Pramod Tripathi, founder, Freedom from Diabetes center, tells indianexpress.com, “Sugar-free and no added sugar labelled products do not mean the same thing”. “According to United States’ Food and Drug Administration guidelines ‘no added sugar’ means no sugar-containing ingredient is used during processing and ‘sugar free’ means a food must have 0.5 gram of sugar (naturally occurring or any sugar ingredient) per serving. ALSO READ: Diabetes: What you should eat to keep your blood sugar level in controlAdvertisingWhy is added sugar a concern? Since added sugars are easily broken down by once’s body, sugar levels tend to rise very rapidly unlike natural sugars.

Source: Indian Express July 18, 2019 11:15 UTC