Local Life - St Helens - February 2018

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and of the food industry’s habit of slipping sugar
into everything from soups to smoothies, in the
epidemic of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease
and dementia. Highly refined sugars are the worst
and have a dramatic effect on blood glucose levels.
In excess, these sugars are converted to blood fats
called triglycerides, that may have a harmful effect
on the liver and encourage the build-up of bad
cholesterol, implicated in heart disease risk.”
:: What’s being done about that?
Official bodies are “all over the message to cut
down on sugar”, Hobson notes. In March last year,
the WHO (World Health Organisation) urged us to
“reduce ‘free’ sugars added during food processing,
preparation or cooking, and in honey, syrups and
fruit juice”. A few months on, the Scientific Advisory
Committee on Nutrition (SACN), which advises the
government on diet, recommended slashing added
sugars to 5% of daily calories - “half the previous
recommended intake,” Hobson adds. Experts now
Rob Hobson, head of nutrition for Healthspan