Are low-sugar and sugar-free mooncakes really healthier?

Let this sink in as you finish off a whole baked lotus paste mooncake with one salted egg yolk: Almost 790 calories. The same mooncake with two yolks could set you back almost 890 calories, nearly half of your daily calorie requirement that you’ll have to cycle for almost two hours or run for more than an hour to burn off.
But it’s not like you eat mooncakes every day, you protest. What’s the big deal with a little indulgence once a year, especially if you’re opting for “healthier” mooncakes made with less or no sugar?
HOW MUCH SUGAR IS TOO MUCH? CAN THERE REALLY BE HEALTHIER MOONCAKES?
According to the World Health Organization’s guideline, you should be limiting your daily free sugar intake to about six teaspoons of the sweet stuff. However, one traditional baked mooncake has about 30 to 45 teaspoons of sugar – that’s busting your sugar limit six to seven times over.
So, it may seem like a no-brainer to opt for mooncakes made with reduced or no sugar at all. But are they truly better?
The popular lotus paste filling in many mooncakes already contains natural sugars, said Catherine Koh, the head of dietetics at Alexandra Hospital. It’s the added sugar that is replaced with artificial sweeteners such as erythritol or malitol to reduce the carbohydrate or sugar content, she said. In addition, fat is also added to lotus paste, she said.
Unfortunately, these low-calorie sugar alcohols aren’t without controversy. Erythritol was found in a 2021 study to increase the stickiness of blood platelets, and could raise the risk of heart attack, stroke or other vascular issues.
Malitol, while better for dental health than sugar, can cause intestinal gas, cramping and diarrhoea when consumed in large amounts. In fact, scientists recommended staying under 10g of sugar alcohol daily to avoid those side effects.
Even without the issue of sugar, mooncakes’ fat content is high. “Most mooncakes tend to use fat or oil that contains saturated fat, which is detrimental for people with high cholesterol and heart disease,” said Koh.
WHAT’S THE TOTAL DAMAGE?
Sugar aside, mooncakes are also high in calories, carbohydrates, fat, cholesterol and sodium. Here’s a look at the more traditional mooncake types available, according to Health Promotion Board’s Energy & Nutrient Composition of Food. Note that the values pertain to 100g or about half a regular-sized 180g mooncake with lotus-paste filling:
HOW DO WE HAVE OUR MOONCAKE AND EAT IT, TOO?
Share your mooncake with family and friends, said Koh. And don’t eat a whole mooncake in place of a proper meal either. “By skipping meals, it may lead to overeating which can lead to a higher calorie intake,” said Koh.
It is best to enjoy your mooncake as a treat and preferably after a balanced meal to avoid overconsumption, she added. To reduce your sugar intake, chase it down with sugar-free traditional Chinese tea.