- A study has foundthe average glass of ginger beer contains 38.5g sugar
- The amount is more than any other fizzy drink - including Coca-Cola
- Supermarket own-brands contain far less sugar than branded equivalents
By Imogen Blake For Mailonline
Published: | Updated:
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72 View commentsGinger beer has undergone a major rebrand in the last few years as companies target the middle classes with artisan bottles that boast traditional recipes and botanical ingredients.
But despite its sophisticated image, a shocking new study published today has revealed that the fiery beverage contains more sugar than any other fizzy drink - even beating Coca-Cola.
The average glass of ginger beer contains a whopping 38.5g of sugar - the equivalent of just over eight teaspoons - according to the research by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Open.
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A new study has revealed that the average glass of ginger beercontains 38.5g, which is the equivalent of just over eight teaspoons and more sugar than any other fizzy drink - even beating Coca-Cola to the top spot
A glass of co*ke, on the other hand, contains 35g - that's about seven teaspoons.
But ginger beer's cousin, ginger ale, was found to be the fizzy drink with the lowest amount of sugar on average. A glass contains around 22.9g, according to the findings - but that's still 4.9 teaspoons.
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The findings come after Tesco announced it has reduced the amount of sugar in its own-brand soft drinks, including its cola and juice drinks.
Its cola now contains 4.8g of sugar per 100ml, compared to 9.7g previously.
The BMJ's study revealed that supermarket own-brands contained far less sugar than their branded equivalents, even before any sugar reductions.
The average glass of Coca-Colacontains 35g of sugar - that's about seven teaspoons - while73 per cent of soft drinks exceed the daily recommended allowance for children of 24g
Supermarket cola drinks on average contain 27.9g of sugar per glass, while branded products contained 31.6g, according to the research.
But taking together both branded products and own-brand cola drinks, a glass of cola on average contained 35g of sugar - the same amount as in Coca-Cola.
More than half of all soft drinks exceed the adult's daily recommendation for sugar intake of 30g.
And 73 per cent exceed the daily recommended allowance for children of 24g.
Action on Sugar, who commissioned the study, used the findings to call on companies to follow Tesco's lead and reduce sugar content in their fizzy and soft drinks to below 5g per 100ml.
Tesco's fizzy and soft drinks (pictured) have been reduced in sugar, while morethan half of all soft drinks were found to exceed the adult's daily recommendation for sugar intake of 30g
Drink | Average sugar content (g) per 330ml | Equivalent amount of sugar in teaspoons |
---|---|---|
Ginger beer | 38.5 | 8.2 |
Coca Cola | 35 | 7.5 |
Other branded colas | 31.6 | 6.7 |
Supermarket own-brand cola | 27.9 | 6 |
Ginger ale | 22.9 | 5 |
A soft drinks levy is being proposed for companies who continue to sell drinks high in sugar but Action on Sugar urges them to act sooner.
Kawther Hashem, co-author of the BMJ Open study and researcher for Action on Sugar at Queen Mary University of London, said: 'It's not possible to state that carbonated sugar-sweetened drinks can be consumed as part of a "healthy, balanced diet," even though drinks companies claim it can be.
'Cola flavour is the most popular flavour in the UK, owing to the huge volume consumed; even small reductions would have a significant impact on free sugars and calorie intake of the population.
'We hope the soft drinks industry levy will make drinks manufacturers reduce the levels of sugar in their products immediately and help reduce our risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and dental caries.'
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