Where and How Can I Cut Down on Sugar in Daily Life?

In their book “Kinderernährung – Expertenwissen für den Alltag” (German only), Swiss nutrition experts Dr George Marx and Andrea Mathis give a comprehensive overview of the wide-ranging and often controversial topic of child nutrition. We translated a selection of their insights and publish their findings on this blog to make them available to a wider audience. Please find the links to further posts of this series at the end of this contribution.

Most people consume sugar every day without being aware of it – since it is found not only in sweets but also in sauces, sweetened drinks and fruit juices, ketchup or frozen pizza. There are more and more artificial sweeteners, light products and sugar alternatives – yet nonetheless, sugar consumption has steadily increased in recent years. The World Health Organization (WHO) is urgently calling for a change to the addition of sugar in food and research is investigating the question of the perfect, calorie-free sugar substitute, a super sugar, which is equivalent to the original but safe.

Photo: Nadja Lenherr

Sugar Reduction in Beverages

(1 sugar cube = 4 g sugar)

Quantity	Product	Sugar	Alternative tip
100 ml	Unsweetened fruit juice	12 g	Mix 1:2 or 1:3 with water → 50–70% less sugar
100 ml	Fruit juice spritzer, unsweetened, 60% juice/40% water	7.2 g	Mix 1:2 with water → 50% less sugar
100 ml	Fruit nectar	10 g	Mix 1:2 with water → 50% less sugar
100 ml	Sweetened drinks, soft drinks	9.5 g	Mix 1:2 with water → 50% less sugar
100 ml	Sweetened iced tea	7.5 g	500 ml tea, lemon juice, 1 tbsp. honey, 2 tbsp. apple juice, chill → 70% less sugar or Mix 1:2 with water → 50% less sugar
100 ml	Syrup, diluted 1:5	12 g	Flavor water with fresh mint or lemon balm leaves and a few squeezes of fresh lemon or orange juice → 100% less sugar

Sugar Reduction in Breakfast Foods

Quantity	Product	Sugar	Alternative tip
100 g	Preserves, jelly	60 g	Homemade preserves with gelling agent 2 parts fruit + 1 part sugar → 50% less sugar
100 g	Breakfast cereals for children	10–60 g	There are products with less sugar that also taste good!
100 g	Fruit muesli	10–25 g	Make muesli yourself with sunflower seeds, coconut chips, flaxseed, oat flakes, spelt flakes, cornflakes without sugar → 80% less sugar
100 g	Chocolate nut spread	50–60 g	Homemade chocolate nut spread → 70–80% less sugar

Sugar Reduction in Dairy Products

Quantity	Product	Sugar	Alternative tip
100 g	Fruit yoghurt	9–18 g	Mix with an equal amount of plain yoghurt → 40% less sugar or Make fruit yoghurt yourself with 2 parts plain yoghurt + 1 part pureed seasonal fruit → 50–70% less sugar
100 g	Chocolate milk	10 g	Mix with an equal amount of milk → 30% less sugar or Make your own chocolate milk with 180 ml milk, 2 tsp. pure cocoa powder, 1 tsp. sugar → approx. 30% less sugar