Sugar Free Might Not Be Good For You

If you’re watching your weight then you probably pay quite a bit of attention to what you eat. When you’re shopping you might tend towards the “light” or “fat free” or “sugar free” products that adorn so many supermarkets’ shelves.

Unfortunately some of the labelling is more than a little misleading.

An example I came across in a local shop this evening was in relation to jam.

I spotted some jars proclaiming that they were “sugar free”:

So if there’s no “added sugar” what were they using?

Checking the label revealed:

So they’re using Sorbitol instead.. Ok, but it’s a laxative? Why does this bother me a bit?

Another company, who happen to be Irish, also offer a jam with “no added sugar”, or rather “100% all fruit”:

So what are they using instead of sugar? As they proclaim proudly on their site:

Only the natural sweetness of concentrated grape juice is used. This natural grape juice sweetness produces a delicious fresh taste!

The difference in price? Negligible – literally less than 10 cents.

I’ve no idea if there are any nasty side effects to grape juice, but I somehow doubt it ..