Ah ... the sweet life. Most of us live it. In fact, according to a report from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database, most American adults consume about 22.2 teaspoons -- or 355 calories -- of sugar a day. That's well above the recommended daily sugar intake. But what are the dangers of sugar? How does it impact your health? Here's how to cut back on sugar ... and maybe even make your life a little sweeter.
The American Heart Association recently recommended no more than 6 teaspoons of sugar a day (that's about 100 calories, or 25 grams) for women and 9 teaspoons (150 calories, 37.5 grams) a day for men.
Kristy Lang, a registered dietitian and diabetes educator at Boone Hospital Center's diabetes and weight-management office, said sugar itself isn't inherently bad. It's when people eat too much that problems occur.
"There's no such things as bad foods, just bad portion sizes," Lang said.
Too much sugar can contribute to weight gain, as well as other health complications such as diabetes and high cholesterol, Lang said.
According to the American Heart Association, some studies show a correlation between diets high in added sugars and deficiencies in calcium, vitamin A, iron and zinc.
But counting sugar isn't simple.
When you look at a nutrition label, the listed sugar content includes the sugars that occur naturally in the food as well as the sugars that have been added to the food, registered dietitian Sally Stegemann said.
"Milk could look like it has a lot of sugar, but in reality it's coming from the lactose, which is a natural sugar," she said.
A better indicator of a food's sugar content is the list of ingredients.
"The first ingredient has the most weight in the recipe. If sugar is popping up in the first three to five ingredients, I would say that's a sugary food," Lang said.
But simply scanning for the word "sugar" won't cut it. Other names for added sugars include brown sugar, corn sweetener, high fructose corn syrup, honey, cane sugar and anything ending with "ose: dextrose, fructose, glucose, lactose, maltose and sucrose, Stegemann said. Knowing these words is helpful. Lang said sometimes a company might use multiple types of sweetener in a single recipe, so even if sugar doesn't show up at the beginning of the ingredient list, the food could still contain a significant amount. And, Lang added, it doesn't matter whether those sugars come from nature or from the labs. A company using honey instead of high-fructose corn syrup might be able to boast an all-natural label, but that doesn't mean there's any less sugar, Lang said. Still, there are steps you can take if you're trying to reduce the amount of sugar in your diet. The first is making a habit of reading nutrition labels and ingredient lists and looking for alternative selections if a favorite brand uses a lot of sugar, Lang said. The biggest sugar-slashing swaps you can make, Lang said, is substituting no- or low-sugar beverages such as water, Crystal Light, Propel and carbonated water for soda, sports drinks and fruit-flavored drinks. Lang also recommended doing the bulk of your shopping around the perimeter of the store, where you'll find fresh produce, meats, seafood, dairy products and bread. Processed foods are usually found in the center aisles. "Use those things to round out a meal, but not make up the whole meal or the whole snack," Lang said. Being aware of what constitutes a serving size and cutting back portions of processed foods can also help, Stegemann said. Over time, you might not even miss them. "If you slowly cut back on sugary foods, you aren't going to miss that taste as much," Stegemann said. "Your taste buds can adjust and adapt." For some, using an artificial sweetener might be a good option. "If they had once sweetened their tea, some people are OK with switching to an alternative sweetener. That can be one way to cut back on sugars," Stegemann said. Although changing habits to adhere to the American Heart Association's recommendations might take effort, Lang said focusing on a balanced, healthful diet as a whole is the more important thing. "Sugar makes up one piece of a whole puzzle. When I meet with people and I talk about nutrition and weight loss, we don't really have them keep track of sugar. You get focused on one part of the puzzle, and then everything else can get blurred," she said. Reach Caroline Dohack at 573-815-1727 or e-mail cedohack@tribmail.com. // var ranNum = Math.round(Math.random()*1000000); document.write('http://content.yellowbrix.com/images/content/cimage.nsp?ctype=full_story&story_id=147555468&id=thirdage&ip_id=McClatchy-Tribune+Business+News&source_id=Columbia+Daily+Tribune&category=General+Interest&random=' + (ranNum));// ]]>//
