How to reduce sugar in your diet for your and the planet's health

Sugar production is harming our planet, using up valuable agricultural land for a crop which in turn is not good for humans. It contributes to deforestation, water shortage, CO2 emission, and global warming - and so should be reined in.

But supply is dictated by demand. Here Professor Robert Thomas looks at how we can all reduce sugar in our diets, which in turn will help the planet breathe a sigh of relief from its intensive production. In his previous article, Professor Thomas outlined the problems that sugar production is causing the Earth.

What can we do to help

Boycott savoury foods which have added sugar including some bread, crisps, ready meals, sources and most processed meats. These don't even improve the taste and reflect dated food manufacturing practices. To identify these you may have to read the label carefully and be aware of terms which try to make sugar sound more natural such as raw sugar, cane sugar, brown sugar, fructose, sucrose, maltose, dextrose, corn or rice syrups - these are all harmful processed sugars.

Avoid buying sugar rich foods such as many breakfast cereals. Although it's not easy, to break the habit for our kids try to buy sugar-free cereals such as Weetabix or Shredded Wheat then sweeten with whole fruits and berries. Avoid sweetened soya, almond or oat milks. When baking, try sweetening cakes or biscuits with figs or fruit instead of processed sugar.

Stop adding table sugar to tea and coffee. This may seem an unsurmountable task for people who have been doing this for years, but it really is not as difficult as it appears. The chemical structure of the tastebuds actually changes within a week so you will wonder why you never did it before. The was eloquently demonstrated in a study from California which persuaded a large group of workers to omit all sugar and sweeteners from tea or coffee. Within two weeks, 95 per cent of participants found that foods and drinks actually tasted sweeter and 95 per cent said moving forward they would use less or even no sugar especially in their tea or coffee.

Stop gifting cakes, biscuits and sweets to hospital or other co-workers. In the cancer unit I work in, like many thousands across the country, the nurses’ stations are festooned with cakes, chocolates, muffins, sweets and candies bought from grateful patients. These tempt hard-working staff, who may not have had time for a decent lunch break. Many nurses, clerical staff, especially those struggling to lose weight, would much prefer healthy snacks. We published a study which removed all sugary snacks and replaced them with fruit and nuts. After 3 months, average weight of the staff reduced and measurements of happiness improved.

What governments and investors could do:

Ethical investment: Some conscientious financial institutions are encouraging investment into environmental ethical companies which can drive meaningful change at a global level.

James Thomas Head of European Distribution for ARK Invest explains: "Sustainable investing supports organizations driving positive environmental change. Our sustainable future of food strategy focuses on companies leading the transition to a more sustainable food systems, impacting consumption, production, and supply chains. By investing sustainable strategies, investors empower companies making positive environmental strides."

Sensible taxes: Import tax on sugar from polluting farms could be doubled and the tax on Fair Trade and sustainably farmed sugar could be halved. The sugar tax which has already been introduced could be used to subsidise the sales of appealing drinks without added sugar. Taxes could look at concentrations of sugar in foods rather than whether they contain sugar or not. This will give greater incentive to reduce sugar concentrations rather had switch to sugar substitutes which, from a health perspective, are not much better.

In conclusion, the sugar industry has a dark past and an even bleaker future. It was built on slavery from the 15th century onwards which involved captivity, displacement and death for millions of people. Now we are all slaves to sugar addiction and unless we dramatically change our dietary habits the catastrophic effects on our health and the plant are going to kill millions more. So next time you think about putting sugar in your tea, or buying that donut spare a thought for the damage you are doing to yourself and the planet.

See also: Nine reasons why sugar is harming our planet

Thanks to: George Tijbosch from MiQ and Katerina Jarosova for their help with this article.