Sugar Buzz: The Scoop on Sweeteners
Table sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, honey… the US Department of Agriculture estimates that the average American consumes more than 22 teaspoons of added sugars like these a day. Sugars and syrups are added to processed foods, stirred in during cooking, or sprinkled on at the ta-ble. But how much sweet stuff is too much?
Natural vs. added sugars. When we bite into a crisp, sweet apple, we get a healthy dose of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fiber along with the sugar. Sugars in naturally sweet foods are not harmful to our bodies, and these foods are an important part of a nutritious diet. How-ever, food manufacturers extract the sugars and syrups from natural sources and use them to sweeten other foods. Any sugar removed from its natural “packaging” and added to another food, whether or not it is concentrated or chemically altered, is an added sugar, and too much of these added sugars are not good for your health. Even too much added sugar from seemingly natural sources, such as honey or fruit juice concentrates, may take a toll on your health.
Why is too much sugar bad? While there is not enough proof to support the popular notion that sugar is “poison” to the body, there is evidence that too much of it can harm health in several ways. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the extra calories from added sugars contribute to the obesity epidemic, and sweet treats displace more nutritious choices on our plates. What’s more, research indicates that people who consume high amounts of added sugars are more likely to have insulin resistance, fatty liver, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
Finding Added Sugars on Ingredients Lists
Below are some words to watch for on labels when trying to limit added sugars in your diet.
- Agave
- Brown sugar
- Cane juice
- Confectioner’s sugar
- Corn syrup
- Dextrose
- Fructose
- Fruit juice concentrate
- Fruit nectar
- Glucose
- High-fructose corn syrup
- Honey
- Invert sugar
- Lactose
- Malt syrup
- Maltose
- Maple syrup
- Molasses
- Nectars
- Raw sugar
- Rice syrup
- Sucrose
- Sugar
- White granulated sugar
Kimber Stanhope, PhD, nutrition researcher at the University of California, Davis, reports, “Looking at my studies and the results of other recent diet intervention studies, there is strong evidence which definitely suggests that the American public needs to decrease consumption of added sugar.” Stanhope recently found a 20 percent increase in LDL (“bad”) cholesterol in healthy young subjects after just two weeks of drinking the equivalent of three to four cans of sweetened cola a day.
How low should you go? Unfortunately, it’s easy to surpass the AHA’s recommended daily limit for added sugar with just a morning muffin or a can of soda. While we get plenty of sugar from sweetened dairy products and sweet foods, like pastries, candy, and breakfast cereals, beverages are by far the biggest source of added sugars in the American diet.
Sugars are listed on the nutrition facts label of food products by amount in grams. To figure out roughly how many teaspoons of sugar are in a processed food, divide the number of grams of sugar on the label by 4—that will be the number of teaspoons in the food. However, it’s important also to remember that the nutrition facts label does not differentiate between sugars found naturally in foods and those added. So, look for added sugars listed by name in the ingredients list (see Finding Added Sugars on Ingredients Lists.)
Skim the sugar. The quickest way to reduce added sugars is to choose water, unsweetened tea or coffee, or low- or non-fat milk over sugary drinks. Cutting down on processed foods, choosing fruits and vegetables for snacks, and saving dessert for special occasions will also slash intake of sugars.
“We need to get back to the idea that sugar is a treat. We have turned it into a staple. The bottom line,” says Stanhope, “is that there could be risk in continuing to consume added sugars at the levels we do, but there is absolutely no risk in decreasing the amount of sugar in your diet.”
— Judith C. Thalheimer, RD, LDN
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