A Unique Child: Nutrition - Sweet talk

Sugar in food is the subject of much confusion among practitioners and parents alike. Most of us know that too much sugar can lead to tooth decay. But what 'sugars' are there? What types should we avoid? And what should we look out for on food labels?

All sugars are carbohydrates and occur naturally but, by the time they reach our tables, some remain unprocessed, such as the sugars in honey or fresh fruit, while others are refined, as in the case of table sugar. When we talk about 'sugars' in our diet, we need to consider three types. 'Intrinsic sugars' form part of the natural cellular structure of food, for example, those found in fruit and vegetables, and include glucose, fructose, sucrose and dextrose. Sugars also occur in milk, and though not part of the cellular structure, these are described as 'milk sugars' and include lactose. Any sugar that does not occur naturally within a food is called a 'non-milk extrinsic' (NME) sugar, such as caster sugar. As sugars such as fructose, sucrose and glucose are commercially available in liquid or powder form, these can fall within the NME category as well as the intrinsic.