BY SYIDA LIZTA AMIRUL IHSAN

Ask any nutritionist (or anyone who watches what he or she eats) and they will tell you that sugar is just "empty calories". It has no other nutritional value.

And as for sweet drinks, Michael Pollan's observation in Food Rules is humbling: "Humans are one of the very few mammals that obtain calories from liquid after weaning."

So instead of complaining that the price of your favourite drinks have increased, take these simple steps to reduce your sugar intake.