A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, and a 5g teaspoon of sugar contains about 20 calories - not very much if that's all you eat.
However, most of us eat a great deal more than that - a can of Fanta contains the equivalent of about nine teaspoons of sugar, a muffin may contain more than two teaspoons.
The problem is that sugar contains a lot of energy - and if you consume more energy than you use in activity you will put on weight. And if you put on too much weight you are more likely to suffer from heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. That is why there is so much concern about the burgeoning global obesity epidemic.
Granulated sugar, the sugar in your sugar bowl or sucrose to give it its chemical name, is a member of the carbohydrate family which includes starches (the main carbohydrate in cereal grains such as wheat, oats and rice, and root vegetables and legumes) and sugars which are simpler carbohydrates. Besides sucrose, several other sorts of sugars such as glucose, fructose, maltose and lactose are naturally found in our food, but more than half the sugars we eat or drink in New Zealand are sucrose, added by you, the cook, or the food manufacturer.
Carbohydrates are an important source of energy, but unlike whole grains and vegetables, refined sugar (sucrose) contains no other nutrients. By eating and drinking foods high in sucrose you can be missing out on other foods like vegetables, fruits and whole grains which not only provide essential nutrients, but can also help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and cancer.
However, although sugar contains no essential vitamins, minerals or fibre, it is not a useless food. Not only does it add sweetness which can make food more palatable, it adds bulk and mouth-feel to foods and drinks.
In biscuits and cakes it adds moisture and flavour and imparts a golden colour. It is also a preserving agent inhibiting the growth of moulds and bacteria, essential in jams and glace fruits, and used in pickles, chutneys and relishes. It also helps a food's "go-away", the quality of not leaving the mouth coated with fat, which is why it is used in some (usually American) peanut butters.
Sugar is used in small quantities in bread to help activate yeast and can help bring out flavour in fruit and tomato dishes.
Professor Jim Mann does not want to return to the "pure, white and deadly" description for sugar promoted by John Yudkin in the 1960s. He believes it is fine to eat some sugar, but we should definitely not eat or drink too much.
"There is no positive goodness to sugar, but there is no positive goodness to lots of things in life and there's no reason why we shouldn't do them. So by all means if you enjoy sweet things, as I do, eat them, but don't think you are doing yourself any good by eating them and remember eating too much of them is not great." he said.
According to the 1997 National Nutrition Survey, we eat an average of 11 g of sugars a day, which is more than 1kg a year of which 53g is sucrose, 20g is glucose, 21g fructose, 13g lactose and 3.6g maltose.
We are also eating 20g-30g a day more sucrose than in the previous survey in 1989.
"Because of slight differences in methodology we can't go to last gram, but it's clear and unequivocal that there's an increase in sucrose," says Winsome Parnell, senior lecturer in Human Nutrition at Otago University.
The 1997 statistics show people below 25 are consuming more sugar than older people and most of it comes in non-alcoholic drinks, including sodas, colas, juices and cordials, and in sweets. Older people get their sugar from sweets and sugar added to food and drinks like tea and coffee and much less from non-alcoholic drinks.
Other foods that contribute significantly to our sugar intake are fruit (which contains natural rather than added sugars), and cakes, muffins, biscuits, puddings and dairy products.
Dietitians recommend no more than 15% of calories should come from sugars.
Many people have a sweet tooth but you can easily reduce your taste for sugar but cutting down bit by bit, says Mrs Parnell.
WHERE TO FIND THE HIDDEN SUGAR IN YOUR FOOD
It's easy to see the sugar you sprinkle over your cereal or porridge or stir into your coffee or tea, but because sugar is hidden in a lot of manufactured foods it's hard to know how much you are eating.
Often sugar is combined with fat, especially in baked goods like cakes, biscuits, pastries and muffins, desserts like cheesecakes and ice creams, and in confectionery like chocolate and toffee. Most people realise these are foods to avoid if you want to lose weight.
Soft drinks such as colas, sodas, cordials, powdered drinks and yoghurt drinks are high in sugar and some will supply more than the recommended daily sugar intake in one hit.
Fanta contains 13.3g sugar per 100ml which adds up to more than nine teaspoons in a 355ml can. Coca cola at 10.6g per 100ml is slightly less, according to the Coca cola information service. Fruit juice, which has a healthier image, is also a concentrated source of sugar, although the sugar may not be added. A small glass of orange juice may contain the sweet juice from several fruit.
Natural and manufactured spreads such as jams, marmalades and honey contain a lot of sugars. Yoghurts and some pickles and chutneys can also contain more than you might expect and sugar is often used in coatings and batters on some fried meats, chicken and fish.
If you read the nutrition panels on muesli bars and some breakfast cereals you may be surprised how much sugar they contain.
Many people do not realise that some processed foods advertised as low-fat or health foods may contain a lot of sugar.
While they may help reduce your fat intake, they may do little to help reduce your weight. This is known as the fat/sugar trade-off - if you get fewer calories from fat, you will make at least some of them up with sugar.
That can be difficult to avoid if you eat a lot of processed foods. However, experts recommend replacing fat with complex carbohydrates like whole grains and vegetables, not foods and drinks with lots of sugar.
One of the big issues is the shift in control,says Mrs Parnell.
"When we used to make our own we had control of the amount of sucrose we added. If you had tea or coffee you decided how much you put in it. Now we tend to buy food and the manufacturer decides how much sugar has gone in."
CHECKING FOOD LABELS
You can tell how much sugar is in the food you buy if you read the nutrition label which is required to be on almost all packaged foods from December 20. It will state the amount of sugar, both added and naturally occurring. Look for foods that have less than 10g sugar per 100g.
If you want to check for added sugar, look in the ingredient list.
The nearer the beginning of the list, the greater the amount of added sugar.
Sugar can hide under a number of guises: sugar, sucrose, glucose, glucose syrup, fructose, fruit sugar, fruit juice concentrate, corn syrup, invert sugar, golden syrup, treacle, dextrose, lactose, disaccharides, monosaccharides, polysaccharides, modified carbohydrate, xylitol, sorbitol, manitol, raw sugar, brown sugar, molasses, malt, malt extract, maltose, or honey.
Other uses for sugar:
• Half Brazil's sugar crop goes to make ethanol which is mixed with petrol to run cars.
• Before the days of gel and hair spray, a thick sugar and water mixture used to be used to stiffen hair, and even as late as the early 20th century was used for keeping wispy bits in check.
• A thick sugar and water mixture was used to stiffen tatting and crocheted lace.
• An 1861 recipe for gunpowder contains saltpetre and sugar.