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How much sugar is in Singapore's favourite sugary drinks?

Sugared drinks sold at a supermarket in Singapore (Photo: Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore)
Sugared drinks sold at a supermarket in Singapore (Photo: Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore)

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong declared on Sunday (20 August) at the National Day Rally that Singapore is currently on a ‘war against diabetes’, and flagged soft drinks as a problem due to their high refined sugar content.

Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore went to find out about some of Singapore’s favourite sugared drinks at convenience stores and supermarkets to see how their sugar content measures up against one another.

According to the Health Promotion Board, the recommended sugar intake for adult Singaporeans (18-69 years old, both men and women) is approximately 40-55g daily. This limit includes sugar that is added to beverages, as well as desserts and sweets.

Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore surveyed sugared drinks at several convenience stores and supermarkets (7-Eleven, NTUC, Cold Storage) across various categories such as carbonates, juices, sports drinks, teas and ready-to-drink (RTD) coffees to compare their sugar content.

Surprisingly, drinks such as Heaven & Earth lemon tea have roughly the same amount of sugar content as carbonated drinks such as Coca-Cola and Sprite. The bulk of drinks that are sold also contain more than 5g of sugar per 100ml.

Note: When looking at the nutritional facts of a product, remember to take note that the sugar content may not be listed as they could be already in the carbohydrates count. After all, all digestible simple sugars and starches eventually get converted to glucose in our bodies.

Here is a short list of popular drinks and their corresponding sugar content:

Sweetest drinks (above 10g, per 100ml)

  • Red Bull (classic) – 15.8g

  • A&W root beer – 12.4g

  • Coca-cola – 10.6g

  • Sprite – 10.7g

  • Sunkist apple juice drink – 11.1g

  • Marigold 100% Juice (apple) – 10.4g

  • Ribena – 11g

  • Starbucks frappuccino – 11.4g

  • Heaven & Earth lemon tea – 10.7g

Red Bull (classic) sold at a supermarket in Singapore (Photo:Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore)
Red Bull (classic) sold at a supermarket in Singapore (Photo:Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore)

Sweet drinks (more than 5g and below 10g, per 100ml)

  • Marigold Peelfresh cranberry juice – 9.6g

  • Marigold Peelfresh orange juice – 7.1g

  • Sunkist orange juice – 7.3g

  • Marigold 100% Juice (orange) – 8.8g

  • Lucozade Sport – 5.6g

  • H-TWO-O – 6g

  • 100 Plus – 6g

  • Coco Water – 9.7g

  • NutriWell (water chestnut and sugar cane, barley, chrysanthemum with wolfberry) – 6g

  • Nescafe Mocha – 6.5g

  • Pokka green tea – 6g

NutriWell drinks sold at a supermarket in Singapore (Photo: Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore)
NutriWell drinks sold at a supermarket in Singapore (Photo: Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore)

Not-so-sweet drinks (below 5g, per 100ml)

  • Refresh coconut water – 4.9g

  • Vita Coco – 3.9g

  • Vitamin Water – 4.3g

Coconut water brands sold at a supermarket in Singapore (Photo: Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore)
Coconut water brands sold at a supermarket in Singapore (Photo: Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore)

And which of these sugared drinks comes up tops among the population in Singapore?

In an email statement, 7-Eleven stated that their top selling sugared non-alcoholic drink at their outlets is Pokka green tea, which contains 6g of sugar per 100ml.

Whether or not it’s still tops after PM Lee’s speech remains to be seen.

“We have been promoting healthier choice drinks through our previous campaigns by increasing our promotions for low sugar and healthier choice products at attractive prices, and will continue to do so, as we work with various organisations such as the Health Promotion Board to encourage our customers to eat & drink healthy,” 7-Eleven said.

Related stories:

National Day Rally 2017: Soft drink makers agree to cut sugar in drinks sold in Singapore

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