Photo Source: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/Nutrition/Tips-for-Cutting-Down-on-Sugar_UCM_461811_Article.jsp#.Wl1RVKinFPY Hi, my name is Sharon Driedger and I am currently in my clinical rotation at St. Joseph’s Medical Center. Here is a brief snapshot of a presentation I gave recently for my community rotation.
What does a loaf of bread, can of peaches, ice cream cone and can of tomato soup have in common? They all contain sugar. When most people talk about limiting sugar, they are thinking about simple sugars. Simple sugars can be divided into natural sugar and added sugar. Natural sugar is sugar found naturally in foods. For example, an apple has fructose and a glass of milk has lactose. Added sugar is sugar added to food/drinks during processing or preparation. For example, food processors add high fructose corn syrup to soda and the average coffee drinker prepares their morning coffee by adding sucrose (table sugar).
Added sugar is what should be limited.
Added sugar should be limited for a variety of reasons. Excess sugar causes the body to release a lot of dopamine, which results in an “addictive feeling”, thus encouraging more sugar intake. In response to high amounts of sugar, the body releases extra insulin to process the sugar. This promotes the body to build extra fat which can cause weight gain and negatively affect the heart, resulting in heart disease. Foods high in added sugar are often low in nutrients and high in calories. Too much sugar negatively affects the whole body.
How much added sugar is ok in one day? The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that men should limit their sugar intake to 9 tsp. (36 grams) of sugar a day and women should limit to 6 tsp. (25 grams) of sugar a day. To put this into perspective, a 12 oz. can of soda has about 10 tsps. (40 grams) of sugar. The average American consumes 20 tsps. (80 grams) in one day, which is more than double the amount recommended by the AHA.
To reduce our added sugar intake from foods we choose, just look at the food label for the word ‘sugar’. Right? Not quite. ‘Sugar’ on the food label is telling you the amount of total simple sugars in the product, which includes both added and natural sugar.
To tell if the food has added sugar, look at the ingredient list.
There is a plethora of different words for added sugar. To make this simple, look for words in the ingredient list that include:
The good news is, coming in summer 2018, you won’t have to examine the ingredient list as much because the new nutrition label will tell how much added sugar is in the product.
This will help us keep our daily added sugar intake to 6 and 9 tsps a day to help our body enjoy good health and quality of life.
What does a loaf of bread, can of peaches, ice cream cone and can of tomato soup have in common? They all contain sugar. When most people talk about limiting sugar, they are thinking about simple sugars. Simple sugars can be divided into natural sugar and added sugar. Natural sugar is sugar found naturally in foods. For example, an apple has fructose and a glass of milk has lactose. Added sugar is sugar added to food/drinks during processing or preparation. For example, food processors add high fructose corn syrup to soda and the average coffee drinker prepares their morning coffee by adding sucrose (table sugar).
Added sugar is what should be limited.
Added sugar should be limited for a variety of reasons. Excess sugar causes the body to release a lot of dopamine, which results in an “addictive feeling”, thus encouraging more sugar intake. In response to high amounts of sugar, the body releases extra insulin to process the sugar. This promotes the body to build extra fat which can cause weight gain and negatively affect the heart, resulting in heart disease. Foods high in added sugar are often low in nutrients and high in calories. Too much sugar negatively affects the whole body.
How much added sugar is ok in one day? The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that men should limit their sugar intake to 9 tsp. (36 grams) of sugar a day and women should limit to 6 tsp. (25 grams) of sugar a day. To put this into perspective, a 12 oz. can of soda has about 10 tsps. (40 grams) of sugar. The average American consumes 20 tsps. (80 grams) in one day, which is more than double the amount recommended by the AHA.
To reduce our added sugar intake from foods we choose, just look at the food label for the word ‘sugar’. Right? Not quite. ‘Sugar’ on the food label is telling you the amount of total simple sugars in the product, which includes both added and natural sugar.
To tell if the food has added sugar, look at the ingredient list.
There is a plethora of different words for added sugar. To make this simple, look for words in the ingredient list that include:
- “syrup” (e.g. malt syrup, high fructose corn syrup)
- “sugar” (e.g. cane sugar, invert sugar)
- “-ose” as the suffix in the word (e.g. dextrose, sucrose).
The good news is, coming in summer 2018, you won’t have to examine the ingredient list as much because the new nutrition label will tell how much added sugar is in the product.
This will help us keep our daily added sugar intake to 6 and 9 tsps a day to help our body enjoy good health and quality of life.
