Don’t take away my sugar, it tastes so good! Is it really bad for me? Well, the answer is it could be leading to possible health risks down the road. Research is showing that too much added sugar in our diet can significantly increase our risk of dying from cardiovascular disease according to a recent study done last year. Other studies have linked added sugars in the diet to obesity, heart disease and diabetes.
So where’s the sugar? There’s naturally occurring sugar found in fruits (fructose) or in dairy (lactose) products, however these sugars are not the ones in the spotlight – it’s the added sugars found in soft drinks, fruit juices, cakes, cookies, pies, or ice cream. These foods, in contrast to the foods with the naturally occurring sugar, contribute zero nutrients to our body except added calories.
Sugar is hidden in many of our products so we need to be a bit of a detective to find them. Look at the Nutrition Facts Label and find the “Sugar Grams” listed. Since this amount is comprised of both the naturally occurring and the added sugars we have to take another step and look at the ingredients list. Sugar has many other names and besides the ones ending in “ose” like maltose and sucrose, look for items like high fructose corn syrup, molasses, cane sugar, corn sweetener, raw sugar, syrup, honey, or fruit juice concentrates.
The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends limiting the amount of added sugars you consume to no more than half of your daily discretionary calories allowance. For most American women, that’s no more than 100 calories per day, or about 6 teaspoons (25 g) of sugar. For men, it’s 150 calories per day, or about 9 teaspoons (37 g). The AHA recommendations focus on all added sugars, without singling out any particular types such as high-fructose corn syrup. ( www.heart.org)
Keeping track of sugar intake is a good idea and decreasing it is easier than we think. Here are a few tips:
- Be a Label Reader. Compare food products and choose the ones with the lowest added sugars. Added sugars can be identified in the ingredients list.
- Ditch the Soda. Drink water or unsweetened tea.
- Stop Using Table Sugar. This includes white or brown, syrup, honey or molasses. Start by decreasing the amount to half and wean down from there.
- Eat Whole Fresh or Frozen Fruits. Avoid fruits canned in syrup, especially heavy syrup.
- Add Fruit. Instead of adding sugar or honey to cereal or oatmeal add fresh fruit or try dried fruits like raisins or cranberries.
- Decrease the Serving. When baking cut back the amount of sugar suggested in the recipe by 1/3 to 1/2.
- Try extracts. Instead of adding sugar in recipes, use extracts like almond, vanilla, orange or lemon.
- Replace it completely. Enhance foods with spices instead of sugar. Try ginger, allspice, cinnamon or nutmeg.
- Substitute. Switch out sugar with unsweetened applesauce in recipes (use equal amounts).
By Vincent Alvarez, RDN, NSCA-CPT