Apr 23

Apr 23 Sugar & Artificial Sweeteners

On average, Americans consume nearly 3 times more added sugar* than the recommended daily intake. You may already know that over-consumption of added sugar is linked to Type 2 Diabetes, affecting more than 26 million Americans. The sweeter the better; right? Although this may seem hard to believe, consider that the typical Western Diet consists of sugary cereal, muffins and other pastries, juice, soda, flavored low-fat yogurt... basically all things processed.

*Some foods such as fruit and dairy products have naturally occurring sugars, otherwise, all sweetness is caused from added sugar.

Sugar is a simple carbohydrate. It is digested quickly and can lead to spiked blood sugar levels. When reading nutrition labels, the higher the sugar, the more carbs a product will have. Reading nutritional labels isn't as straightforward as it sounds: There are roughly 60 other names for sugar, making it sometimes difficult to decipher. Common names may include:

Agave nectar
Brown sugar
Cane juice
Cane sugar
Caramel
Corn Syrup
Dextrose
Fructose (sugar from fruit)
Fruit Juice
Glucose
Honey
Maltose
Maple syrup
Molasses
Palm sugar
Powdered sugar
Rice syrup
Turbinado sugar

The list goes on...

Ingredient lists are written in order of weight from highest to lowest. Be sure to read the whole list as many products will contain multiple types of sugar in order to push them further down the list.

Why do food labels use the Metric System when Americans use the Standard Unit System? Sugar is one of the most important things to watch out for on food labels when choosing what to purchase and eat. When reading a label, however, you will notice that sugar is listed in grams. This amount accounts for both natural and added sugars. I don't know about you but I don't have anything in my kitchen that measures grams. To get a better understanding of just how much sugar we consume each day, let's look at some examples:

4 grams of sugar = 1 tsp (3 tsp = 1 Tbsp)

1 cup Raisin Bran Crunch Cereal (raisins, sugar, brown sugar syrup, malt flavor): 19 grams of sugar = 4 3/4 tsp
6 oz Yoplait Strawberry Yogurt (sugar, 2nd ingredient): 26 grams of sugar = 6 1/2 tsp
2 Tbsp Nutella (sugar, 1st ingredient!): 21 grams of sugar = 5 1/4 tsp
13.7 oz Starbucks Frappuccino chilled coffee drink, found in grocery aisles (sugar, 3rd ingredient): 46 grams of sugar = 11 1/2 tsp
1 can Coke (high-fructose corn syrup, 2nd ingredient): 65 grams of sugar = 16 1/4 tsp (1/3 cup!) Where do all the calories come from? 1 tsp of sugar has only 15 calories but multiply that by 1/3 cup of sugar and you have yourself 240 calories of liquid sugar. Wow!
1 can Diet Coke (aspartame, 3rd ingredient): Ever notice that sugar isn't even listed on the label? Although there's no sugar, there IS artificial sweetener. So yes, 0 calories but that doesn't make it a healthier option.

Tip: Replace flavored yogurt with plain Greek yogurt, Nutella with peanut butter and soda with sparkling water.

Did you know: "Low-fat" options are typically higher in refined carbs and sugar? Make sure to read the nutrition labels to get all the facts. Fat adds flavor. When fat is removed, sugar is added in order to save the taste. Stick to purchasing unsweetened and no-sugar added options and sweetening yourself with cinnamon, honey or fresh fruit. Instead of adding sugar to your coffee, try cinnamon and higher fat milk. Again, removing fat removes flavor, therefore, low-fat milk may leave you craving sugar to fill the void.

Try this: Store-bought icings contain palm oil, high-fructose corn syrup and artificial colors and flavors. Instead, try making your own glaze by mixing powdered sugar, water and vanilla/almond/orange extract.

Better yet: Skip the icing all together and top your treats with fresh or frozen fruit. I always keep frozen mixed berries on-hand to use for a quick and natural sweetener. This works for replacing jelly as well since it typically contains added sugar.

Natural Sweeteners:

Sucrose / Sugar (15 calories per tsp), is a natural sweetener found in most plants, most commonly sugarcane and sugar beets.
Stevia - A natural sweetener made from leaves of the stevia plant, 100-200 times sweeter than sugar.

Artificial Sweeteners (0 calories):

Aspartame (Equal, blue packet) 220 times sweeter than sugar
Saccharin (Sweet'N Low, pink packet) 200-700 times sweeter than sugar
Sucralose (Splenda, yellow packet) 600 times sweeter than sugar

Although artificial sweeteners are calorie-free, they can alter our taste buds and appetites. Regular use of these sweeteners can cause dissatisfaction from eating natural, more mildly, sweet foods such as fruit. Sugar can cause addiction; the more we have, the more we crave. Instead of debating which is healthier, sugar or artificial sweeteners, we should begin to cut back and keep sweetness to a minimum.

Baby steps.

-Mallory