Originally Posted by
krispy84
2.9g per 100 ml = 5.8g per 200ml bottle.
UK over 11 daily added sugar recommendation is 30g (
http://www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/1139.aspx?categoryid=51)
So a 200ml bottle of low sugar Fevertree still has 19% of the daily recommendation.
Without going down a Biochemistry wormhole ......Yes it's Fructose rather than sucrose or glucose, which is a little 'better', but I would say that 19% equates to quite a bit.
FYI, the regular Fevertree has 53% of the recommended daily amount, more gin required to dilute it tonight me thinks, that'll make a difference ...................
IMHO Fevertree have made the right call to offer a low calorie version of the tonic using natural sweeteners rather than a zero calorie version full of artificial sweeteners.
On a taste basis it I find it superior to other no or low calorie tonics.
Nutritional values for the low calorie version are 2.9g sugar per 100ml (15 Kcals), so for the 150ml cans that BA serve the figures per can are 4.35g sugar (22.5 kcals). A teaspoon of sugar is 4.1g of sugar so about the same.
The reference intake for sugars in the UK is 90g (see
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/...ounts-GDA.aspx). The 30g figure quoted up thread relates to added sugars. Thus a can of tonic represents about 5% of recommended daily sugar intake and 15% of recommended added sugars. (And just over 1% of daily recommended calorie intake for women, even less than that for men).
In terms of the sugar being fructose, this is largely a red herring. The sugar and energy values are the same. Some argue that since fructose is metabolised differently and doesn't lead to production of appetite controlling hormones, it is less likely to be converted into fat, but that is unproven. I can't comment on diabetes.
On the other hand, we need some carbohydrates in our diet and it is fine for some of them to come from sugar. It is perfectly reasonable to want to control carbs and this can lead to weight loss, but it needs to be done sensibly. A totally carb free diet will lead to considerable weight loss (due to death and decomposition). I sometimes wonder whether those totally obsessed with the evils of carbs might be better seeking psychiatric rather than nutritional advice.
My conclusion (but I'm no expert) would be that the equivalent of a teaspoon of sugar (which I know about), mixed with gin (which is hardly the healthiest substances and full of calories of little nutritional value), is perfectly fine in a balanced diet.