This page of my blog is what I've recently learned about sugar. It's been an interesting journey and sometimes a sad one as I realize all those old friends I've had for years (chocolate, cookies, ice cream) aren't really friends at all.
It's shocking to realize how much hidden sugar sneaks into our diet from places we'd never suspect sugar. Did you know that McDonald's reportedly only has 7 items on their menu without sugar: fries, hashbrowns, chicken Mcnuggets (unless you dip them - all the sauces have loads of sugar), sausage, diet coke, coffee and iced tea? I wouldn't ever suspect sugar with my Big Mac. (not that I've ever eaten one, not my thing)
How about yogurt? It's touted to have all that great bacteria to help your digestive system, right? But it comes with a sweet price. An average 8 oz. fruit flavored yogurt comes with 6 teaspoons of added sugar.
Soda? a 12 oz serving has 10 tsp of sugar.
12 oz. of soda per day equals 16 lbs of weight gain per year
20 oz soda per day is enough calories to gain 26 lbs a year
44 oz soda per day is enough calories to gain 57 lbs a year
Sugar by any other name: It's not enough that sugar is in so many foods you'd never suspect, it's hard to even find it on the ingredient list. Sugar may not even be listed. There are more than 40 different names used for added sugar in labeling. Here are just some of them:
barley malt, beet sugar, brown sugar, buttered syrup, cane-juice crystals, cane sugar, caramel, carob syrup, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, date sugar, dextran, dextrose, diatase, diastatic malt, ethyl maltol, fructose, fruit juice, fruit juice concentrate, glucose, glucose solids, golden sugar, golden syrup, grape sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, invert sugar, lactose, malt syrup, maltodextrin, maltose, mannitol, molasses, raw sugar, refiner's syrup, sorbitol, sorghum syrup, sucrose, sugar, turbinado sugar, yellow sugar
Check out some of the labels in your cupboards and you will find that not only are these names listed but often several of them are listed on one product. Hidden sugars are in most, if not all processed foods.
White Flour to Sugar: Another area where our bodies get sugar is white flour. Our bodies almost instantly convert white flour to sugar or glucose. Because it's experienced a flood of blood sugar, your body goes into overdrive, releasing huge amounts of insulin. The hormone insulin converts the glucose into glycogen, which can be stored in the muscle and fat tissues for energy.
Because of the huge release of insulin, however, the blood glucose levels are quickly diminished. Your body's response is to ask for more sugar to replenish blood glucose levels. This is what creates the sugar highs and lows. One way to avoid this cycle is to eat complex carbohydrates. Our bodies take time to digest these because they have to expend energy to access the sugars. The sugars are released more slowly into our blood stream making it easier for our bodies to regulate blood glucose levels.
But the largest culprit, by far, in our sugar consumption is refined sugars or simple sugars added to our food. This includes everything on the list above. For indepth information on the effects of these simple sugars on our bodies, I highly recommend you visit my "Links I Like" page and watch "Sugar: The Bitter Truth".
Sugar and Our Health: In my studies, I was surprised to find that sugar (in all forms) can dampen our immune system for up to 6 hours after consuming even a small amount. This can make us more susceptible to virus and bacterial infections. This has been well known in the medical community for decades, which made me wonder why no one ever told me. Our children weren't sickly but with 5 of them it seemed someone was always sniffling, sneezing or coughing. No one told me sugar consumption was dampening their immune responses!
The list of diseases that Dr. Robert Lustig lists as haveing sugar/hfc consumption as a contributory factor is long. Here are just a few of them:
High blood pressure
Gout
Vascular disease
Insulin resistance
Inflammation of all kinds
Bowel issues
Arthritis (because of inflammation)
Cancers
Kidney disease
Tooth decay
Table sugar is made up of glucose and fructose (50/50) Glucose is our bodys fuel system. Dr. Robert Lustig calls fructose a toxin because it is completely processed by our livers, but he adds that "God packaged the poison with the antidote". Fruits have antioxidants and vitamin C that benefit us and they have fiber that slows the absorption of fructose in our systems. The harm comes when we extract the fructose from plants (sugar cane and sugar beets) and use it without the benefits of antioxidants or fiber.
How We Got Here:
In the year 1700 the average person consumed 4 lbs of sugar a year
1800 it was 18 lbs. per person per year
1900 it was 90 lbs
In 2003 the average yearly consumption was 143 pound per person.
The average American consumes 22 tsp, or nearly 1/2 a cup, of sugar A DAY and 25% of the population that consumes 1/2 lb of sugar A DAY!
What began as an occasional treat has become a daily habit for most of us.
What Can Be Done About It: One of the most far reaching things you an do for your health and the health of your family is to learn the hidden sources of sugar and take steps to really lower your sugar consumption.
Ways to Reduce Sugar Consumption
1. One of the number one ways to cut sugar from your diet is to drink only water and milk. On average 12 oz of pop (one can) or 12 oz. of juice both contain about 10 teaspoons of sugar. (diet soda has a whole other set of issues, a formaldehyde like substance and a flame retardant substance among its ingredient list to name just two. You can check out info on diet soda on my page "Links I Like")
2. Choose whole grain foods whenever possible. White flour immediately converts to sugar in our bodies, while high fiber foods slow the absorption and conversion of sugar.
3. Don't reward your children (or yourself) with treats.
4. Make fruits and vegetables accessible. I've always had a bowl of whatever fruit is in season on the table or counter and a crisper of vegetables. My children know that they can snack on fruit or veggies anytime.When they run in from school and want a cookie (low sugar of course) I always ask them if they've put something healthy in their body yet. Even young children can understand that there is healthy fuel for our bodies and sugary treats aren't good fuel. Buying what's in season keeps costs down and everything in season tastes better.
5. When you bake, cut the sugar by 1/3 a few times, then down to 1/2, you'll barely notice the difference.
6. Know the names of sugar used in labeling and watch for them when you are shopping. Keep a cheat sheet in your purse so you can make the best choice.
Just becoming aware and making small changes can have big advantages to your health.
Other Sugar Facts I Enjoy:
Dr. Robert Lustig who runs a pediatric obesity clinic in California has a prescription for success with his obese patients. It's simply 4 steps:
1. Get rid of all sugared drinks. Drink only water or milk.
2. Eat your carbs with fiber.
3. Wait 20 min for seconds
4. For each minute of screen time you must have one minute of physical activity.
8 ounces of low-fat chocolate milk has about 4 teaspoons sugar.
1 cup of frosted whole grain cereal has about 3 teaspoons sugar.
Our body processes a can of coke in the exact same manner it would a beer. The only difference is the 5% alcohol in a beer affects the brain. Soda belly = beer belly. Our bodies can't tell the difference.
Fructose is a carb that is metabolized like a fat.
If you are interested in more information on the effects of sugar in our diets, I recommend, as I said above, Dr. Lustig's lecture on sugar found here.
Dr. Richard Johnson who is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado has some interesting sugar information. His lectures are available on YouTube.
This article from the New York Times online magazine: Is Sugar Toxic? also goes in-depth about this issue.
I have tried to only include information that I have found on multiple, credible sites. If you have questions/concerns about anything here please search out your own answers and draw your own conclusions from all the information available.
