Want to reduce sugar without cutting out everything? In the show “It’s going a lot better”, Dr Jimmy Mohamed, doctor and presenter, gives a clear answer: the priority is not a total ban, but the gradual reduction of the added sugars that are easiest to accumulate.
A tax alone does not solve the daily sugar problem
The starting point of the column is a possible tax on certain sweet products mentioned by the government. According to the doctor, if we tax without helping families to choose better, buy better and better understand the products, the effect risks being limited.
For him, two levers come first: nutritional education and food purchasing power. He particularly emphasizes learning from primary school: understanding what a sugar, a protein is, knowing how to decipher a label, cooking simple dishes. This is not a detail, because food also depends on price, available time, food environment and marketing.
The doctor also links the sugar issue to social inequalities. This approach is consistent with Public Health France data on social determinants of health:
Obesity is not just a lack of willpower. It is multifactorial, with economic, social, environmental and medical dimensions. Saying that excess sugars can promote weight gain does not mean that sugar is the only cause of obesity, nor that the people concerned are responsible for their situation.
Another important nuance of the column: Dr Jimmy Mohamed does not demonize sugar. It reminds us that the body uses glucose as fuel. On the other hand, added sugars are not essential and above all raise questions according to three parameters that he cites: the quantity, frequency and the form in which they are consumed.
Drinks, snacks and labels: practical priorities to remember
The doctor’s number one target is liquid sugar. It mainly targets sodas, sugary drinks and juices consumed as everyday drinks. This priority is in line with the recommendations of the WHO, which calls for reducing intake of free sugars, in particular because they are associated with overweight, obesity and cavities. The key word is “associated”: this does not make sugary drinks the sole cause of weight gain, but
they can easily increase sugar intake without lasting satiation.
This is also why the expert distinguishes the whole fruit from the juice. In her snack example, a mother describes a glass of orange juice, a small packet of chips, and two cookies for her daughter. The doctor estimates that this snack can represent, depending on the portions and brands, the equivalent of several cubes of sugar, while not satiating much. The idea is not to make parents feel guilty, but to identify the associations that accumulate quickly.
To compose a balanced snack for children, it offers a simple basis, to be adapted to the age, appetite and context of each child:
- Offer a dairy product, such as yogurt or petit-suisse;
- Choose a whole fruit rather than orange juice;
- Add a grain product, keeping portions reasonable;
- Don’t ban cookies, but reduce the quantity, for example just one instead of two in his example.
This advice is in line with a useful reflex: favor the whole fruit rather than the juice, because it is eaten more slowly and fits better into a satisfying snack. On the other hand, in the event of overweight, diabetes, eating disorder or medical follow-up, advice must remain personalized with a professional.
The second tool highlighted is reading packaging. Dr Jimmy Mohamed regrets that the Nutri-Score is not visible everywhere. Public Health France recalls that the Nutri-Score remains a voluntary display : it helps to compare products from the same family, but it does not replace reading the list of ingredients, in particular to identify added sugars in cereals, biscuits or desserts.
Finally, the doctor advises against systematically replacing sugar with “false sugars”. Its objective is rather to reaccustom the palate to a less sweet taste. The formula must remain cautious: we can talk about habitual sweet taste or difficulty reducing it, but not diagnose a “sugar addiction” in oneself. If consumption is accompanied by loss of control, suffering or eating behaviors that are difficult to manage,
the right reflex is to talk to a health professional. To go further, True Medical also offers guidelines for reducing your sugar consumption without cutting out everything.