One of our readers Mia sent in the link to this site.
Sugar Stacks uses sugar cubes (4grams/1 tsp) to show how much of the white stuff is stacked up in the guff you eat. Little bit shocking…
(40% more caffiene than coke, and 15% more sugar. Scary stacks.)
One “serving” of the King Size Snickers is one third of the bar.
I'm a journalist + TV presenter. I write about how to make life better. If I had a resume it would list the following: editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, host of MasterChef Australia, Sunday Life columnist, host + producer of the Lifestyle YOU channel (under "hobbies" it would say: eating + riding a bike).
I'm on a mission to find ways to make life bigger, more meaningful, nicer, smarter, heartier. 
Thanks Sarah & Mia – this is a beaut visual! Makes it easy to put to memory.
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Scary!
is it me, or does this make you want to build a sugar cube igloo?
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March 17th, 2011 at 11:48 am
Sugar cubes are super cool. A technological wonder. I always keep a few on my shelf just to marvel at. The corners are so sharp and precise.
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March 17th, 2011 at 12:43 pm
And when lit and dropped in Absinthe…BAM!!
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I’m confused about the apple – how does whole vs cut up work?
Thanks!
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March 17th, 2011 at 11:39 am
when you cut an apple it dies
so its not a sweet. No seriously I think the cut apple represents a piece vs a whole.
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March 17th, 2011 at 12:26 pm
Thank you Adam…very funny!
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This is really great, it’s a lovely visual. Unfortunately, it only helps me a little as I’m fructose malabsorbent and therefore can’t eat apples. It does highlight that apples are sweeter than strawberries.
Yes, I agree about sugar cubes; I just like looking at them.
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From what I could gather on the website and other research, 4g of sugar is the average amount of sugar in the bloodstream of somebody with normal levels. So, if you drink that can of coke, you have 10x the amount of sugar in your body that you need. No wonder we have health problems with it.
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Just so you know, Mountain Dew in Australia does NOT contain Caffeine
Not that that makes it any better necessarily!
I also don’t agree with comparing fruit to confectionary as whole fruit has a lot of good things like fibre (which lowers GI) and essential vitamins. I think fruit should always be enjoyed in moderation and form part of a healthy diet.
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Wow – awesome idea for a site! Isn’t it funny how even the snacks so many of us view as healthy (yoghurt, sultanas) are super high in sugar! Bring on the boiled eggs or celery and nut butter for morning tea, I say!
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I understand that all those soft drinks are full of sugar and not good for you. But why show fruits as “bad food” ? The most natural food is bad? Ger a life people, everything in moderation is the golden rule. We can even eat a slice of cake once in a while (I know it is an anathema to a lot of people).
What is the point in depriving yourself of pleasures of life – just to die 10 years later ? How boring!
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April 19th, 2012 at 8:59 pm
I don’t see this as showing ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods – just as a way of giving information. That way we know what we’re eating. Knowledge is power and all that.
I suspect the danger is in substituting extra fruit for all the supposedly unhealthy things you give up because you think that by being natural they must be good for you.
The problem with fructose is that it makes you hungry, or rather – it makes you feel hungry, even though you are not. If you eat fruit and feel hungry at least by knowing the reason why you feel hungry you then have the freedom to decide to ignore the feeling.
As for ‘getting a life’, I think that’s what most of us who have given up sugar are trying to do! For myself, I’m not aiming for a longer life, but a better quality of life.
I’m still eating fruit, exactly as I always have done; but no more fruit juice and not fruit instead of something else. (And cake too – but home-made with glucose)
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Stopped sugar in my diet since beginning of Feb. Can’t believe how great I feel. Energised and clear. It is scary to see how much sugar is contained in these so called healthy drinks!
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March 17th, 2011 at 4:23 pm
here is my experience with a sugar fast
http://adamcordner.com/2011/03/14/sugar-honey-ice-tea/
I have more more energy as well, funny because we think energy comes from sugar
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Sarah, all your posts about sugar, and all the reading you have prompted, has me convinced. I’ve cleaned out my cupboards, purged my fridge, prepared lunches for work… Arghhh! I hope I can succeed!
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March 18th, 2011 at 2:23 pm
Don’t worry Viola. If you go ‘cold turkey’ you will lose your taste for sweet things almost completely. I gave up sugar last July and find 2 pieces of fruit per day are enough sweetness for me. The 7kg weight loss has been nice, too.
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March 18th, 2011 at 8:57 pm
Da
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March 18th, 2011 at 8:58 pm
whoops! that was my daughter (who should be in bed!)
Hi sarah. I started reading and following up your blog since a week ago. I love your blog and most of your posts. Some are really mind stimulating and some are so interesting that I come visiting your blog everyday. I am from Malaysia. Forgive my poor language =)
“I quit Sugar” has really caught my attention. I think it’s really great that you share your experience on this! I am hoping to find out more. I will keeping up your posts!!
See you =)
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That’s a lot of sugar! I’ve never realised there was so much sugar in those healthy fruitdrinks! Great images to make me more aware of sugar in our daily food!
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[...] Wilson explains how sugar stacks up and makes you [...]
technically apples/strawberries have slow burning sugar, so they make you feel full. Carbohydrates are a part of our diet, and are not the enemy. Part of a balanced diet.
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I’m so glad that you didn’t post a glass of wine in this post… I don’t want to know!
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[...] what about this: even natural snacks contain more fructose than we can handle. A small box of sultanas is the equivalent to a kilo of grapes and contains 70 per cent sugar. Squeeze a juice and a muesli bar into a school lunchbox and it contains more fructose than in a [...]
[...] How sugar stacks up. This will seriously make you question many of the things you eat/drink. P.S. – They’re pictures, so it’s easy education. [...]