"No added sugar" means no sugar?

The World Health Organization notes that fruit juice contains free sugars even without added sugar, so quantity matters. Not a ban — just not a free pass.

What are "free sugars"?

The WHO's free sugars include sugars added to food and drinks during manufacturing or cooking, plus the sugars naturally present in honey, syrups and fruit juices. The sugars inside whole fruit, vegetables and milk are not counted.

Why single out juice? Once fruit is juiced, most of the fibre is left behind or broken down, so the sugar becomes very easy to drink in one go. A glass of orange juice can use several oranges, yet you would rarely eat several oranges at once. The WHO recommends keeping free sugars below 10% of your total energy intake, with further benefits below 5%.

Reading the pack

"No added sugar" only means no extra sugar was added during production. It does not mean the product has no sugar. Juice, dried fruit, some yoghurts and some cereals can still contain plenty even with that label.

The most practical step is to turn the pack over and read the nutrition label: check the sugar per 100ml or per serving, and compare similar products. The ingredient list is worth a look too, because honey, syrup, juice concentrate and maltose are all sugar under different names.

What to do

Choose whole fruit day to day and watch juice portions. With diabetes or carb targets, follow your doctor or dietitian.

A few Hong Kong examples. At the cha chaan teng, ask for your iced lemon tea or milk tea "less sweet" or "no sugar" and let your taste adjust over time. When you do want juice, take a small glass or top it up with water. For breakfast, rolled oats or wholemeal bread with an apple keeps you fuller than a glass of juice with white bread. When cooking rice, try half brown rice and half white for more fibre.

A TCM view of sweetness

TCM sees the sweet flavour as nourishing and soothing; red dates, Chinese yam and corn are all sweet. But TCM also warns that too much sweet food burdens digestion and encourages dampness and phlegm. So TCM and modern nutrition point the same way: sweetness has its place, but it should come from whole foods, in moderation.

Whole grains such as oats and brown rice have a gentle natural sweetness plus fibre, which makes them a good swap for refined sweet snacks. For more on each one, see the Related ingredients section below.

A common misunderstanding: fruit has sugar, so skip fruit?

That is the opposite extreme. The WHO's warning is about free sugars, and whole fruit is not included. Fruit brings fibre, vitamins and water, and a moderate amount of whole fruit each day is part of a balanced diet.

The things to cut back are juice, soft drinks, sweet drinks and sugary snacks. If you have diabetes or need to manage blood sugar, follow your doctor's or dietitian's advice on which fruits and how much.