Added Sugar Replaces Fat as Ingredient to Watch For

by | Mar 6, 2014 | Nutrition, Sugars | 0 comments

Michelle Obama unveiled a series of proposed changes to the food label last Thursday. These changes, she said, will help consumers make better, more informed decisions.

The nutrition label was due for an update, as the way we eat and nutrition science have moved along quite a bit, and a revision has been in the works for a decade, but given how difficult it is to change anything in the food industry, most expected little tweaks rather than bold changes.

Instead, the proposal surprised with a few very meaningful modifications. The new suggested label updates the serving sizes, admitting that people don’t drink just half a bottle of soda, leave a bagel half eaten, or serve just half a cup of ice cream. Calories will be displayed loud and clear, grabbing our attention as the largest, most prominent item on the label. But the most audacious part of the proposal: food companies will have to list how much sugar they add to a product. Up until now, when a kid had flavored milk a parent could only know the total sugar in the drink — the sugar naturally occurring in milk, and the sugar added as sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) or the many other sugar forms. This extra line on the food label is especially important for products that contain fruits and dairy, both of which have innate sugars, but to which manufacturers can add sweeteners for taste and appeal, and up until now we had no way of knowing how much.

nutrition facts label proposed revision

Nutrition facts label proposed revision. Source: Food and Drug Administration. Red highlights are my addition.

 

Why is added sugar targeted?

Sugar makes food taste good. That’s why sugar is added to everything. Does sugar just make us consume too many calories or is there something inherently fattening and unhealthy about added sugar?

Evidence is now mounting, connecting too much sugar directly to high blood pressure, high triglycerides (blood fats, a risk for heart disease), fatty liver and insulin resistance.

A recent study in JAMA Internal Medicine found that Americans who consume more added sugar have a higher risk of death from heart disease. A study in Public Health Nutrition, found that sugar consumption around the world was directly associated with overweight, obesity and high blood pressure. While low intake of cereals and physical inactivity were also contributors, nothing predicted how fat a country would be as much as how much sugar it consumes. Another recent article published in PLoS One looked at the relationship between sugar availability and diabetes prevalence in 175 countries. After accounting for many factors, such as obesity, exercise, poverty, age, etc., the study found that the higher the added sugar in the countries’ food supply, the higher the diabetes rates. The authors’ conclusion: “Every 150 kcal/person/day increase in sugar availability (about one can of soda/day) was associated with increased diabetes prevalence by 1.1 percent.”

The World Health Organization recommended in 2003 that “added sugar” be limited to 10 percent of a person’s caloric intake. The American Heart Association (AHA) limited further, and recommended that women should consume no more than 100 calories of added sugars per day (6 teaspoons), and most men, no more than 150 calories (9 teaspoons). One 12-ounce can of Coke contains 130 calories in added sugars, which puts women over the AHA upper limit — no room for bread, sweetened yogurt, and just forget about dessert.

Yet the average American consumes about 16 percent of his daily calories in added sugar.

Continue reading

Too Much Sugar Tied To Fatal Heart Problems

by | Feb 12, 2014 | Sugars | 0 comments

Sweets A big national study says too much sugar could be deadly, at least when it comes to fatal heart problems.

It doesn’t take that much extra sugar to substantially raise the risk and most Americans get too much.

The risk is from sugar added to soda and processed foods, not found naturally in fruits and some other foods.

Having a cinnamon roll with breakfast, a super-sized sugary soda at lunch and a scoop of ice cream after dinner would put you in the highest risk category… continue reading

Eggs Don’t Cause Heart Attacks — Sugar Does

by | Feb 10, 2014 | Food Choices, High Fat Diet, Sugars | 0 comments

Sweet It’s over. The debate is settled.

It’s sugar, not fat, that causes heart attacks.

Oops. Fifty years of doctors’ advice and government eating guidelines have been wrong. We’ve been told to swap eggs for cereal. But that recommendation is dead wrong. In fact, it’s very likely that this bad advice has killed millions of Americans.

A rigorously done new study shows that those with the highest sugar intake had a four-fold increase in their risk of heart attacks compared to those with the lowest intakes. That’s 400 percent! Just one 20-ounce soda increases your risk of a heart attack by about 30 percent.

This study of more than 40,000 people, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, accounted for all other potential risk factors including total calories, overall diet quality, smoking, cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity and alcohol.

This follows on the heels of decades of research that has been mostly ignored by the medical establishment and policy makers. In fact, the Institute of Medicine recommends getting no more than 25 percent of your total calories from added sugar. Really? This study showed that your risk of heart attacks doubles if sugar makes up 20 percent of your calories.

Yet more than 70 percent of Americans consume 10 percent of their daily calories from sugar. And about 10 percent of Americans consume one in every four of their calories from sugar.

Failed Dietary Guidelines

U.S. Dietary Guidelines provide no limit for added sugar, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) still lists sugar as a “generally regarded as safe” (GRAS) substance. That classification lets the food industry add unlimited amounts of sugar to our food. At least the American Heart Association recommends that our daily diet contain no more than 5 percent to 7.5 percent added sugar. Yet most of us are eating a lot more. Most of us don’t know that a serving of tomato sauce has more sugar than a serving of Oreo cookies, or that fruit yogurt has more sugar than a Coke, or that most breakfast cereals — even those made with whole grain — are 75 percent sugar. That’s not breakfast, it’s dessert!

This is a major paradigm shift. For years, we’ve been brainwashed into thinking that fat causes heart attacks and raises cholesterol, and that sugar is harmless except as a source of empty calories. They are not empty calories. As it turns out, sugar calories are deadly calories. Sugar causes heart attacks, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cancer and dementia, and is the leading cause of liver failure in America.

The biggest culprit is sugar-sweetened beverages, including sodas, juices, sports drinks, teas and coffees. They are by far the single biggest source of sugar calories in our diet. In fact, more than 37 percent of our sugar calories come from soda. The average teenage boy consumes 34 teaspoons of sugar a day, or about 544 calories from sugar. Even more troubling, this isn’t just putting kids at risk for heart attacks at some remote later date in their lives. It’s killing them before their 20th birthday.

This new research syncs with decades of data on how sugar causes insulin resistance, high triglycerides, lower HDL (good) cholesterol and dangerous small LDL (bad) cholesterol. It also triggers the inflammation we now know is at the root of heart disease.

And fats, including saturated fats, have been unfairly blamed. With the exception of trans fats, fats are actually protective. This includes omega-3 fats, nuts and olive oil, which was proven to reduce heart attack risk by more than 30 percent in a recent large randomized controlled study.

Here’s the simple fact: Sugar calories are worse than other calories. All calories are not created equal. A recent study of more than 175 countries found that increasing overall calories didn’t increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes, but increasing sugar calories did — dramatically.

Read more

12 Ways To Quit Sugar (Or At Least Cut Down)

by | Jan 24, 2014 | Nutrition, Sugars | 0 comments

Sugar Sugar is 2014’s bogeyman, having been blamed by leading doctors and experts as being the main driver behind diabetes, heart disease and rising levels of obesity.

Although discussion is underway as to how damaging it can be and what are acceptable levels of sugar intake, here are 12 helpful steps from nutritional therapist Cassandra Burns from Nutri Centre.

Portion control

Aim for foods that have a low glycaemic load, as their impact on blood sugar level is minimal and you’ll be less likely to experience blood glucose highs and lows that will have you reaching for the cookie jar. Make sure each meal includes protein, non-starchy vegetables and unrefined carbohydrates.Limit sweet tasting veg (parsnips, potato and carrots) and opt for green veg like broccoli and spinach, ideally making up half your plate. Good protein (lean turkey, eggs, fish, beans) are digested slowly and make you feel fuller for longer, carbs should be wholegrain varieties for the same reason.

Don’t skip breakfast

If we don’t have breakfast, often by 11am or midday, we become hungry and crave sugar, as our blood sugar levels drop too low. Try two poached eggs on a slice of wholemeal bread with some rocket leaves or a pot of sugar-free yoghurt with nuts and berries.

Quit sugar, not snacks 

A healthy snack between meals can help while you’re giving up sugar, as it stops your sugar levels dropping too low, which can cause sweet cravings. Good examples include: two oatcakes topped with a tablespoon of humous or guacamole or cottage cheese and half an avocado. Avoid bananas and grapes and opt for berries as they are naturally low in sugar.

Limit alcohol 

Alcohol raises blood sugar, but being a liquid, it is even more quickly absorbed into the bloodstream than sugar. Alcohol also contains more calories than sugar: 7 calories per gram versus 4 calories per gram!

Alcohol binges are a classic way to set up a cycle of cravings for sugary, stodgy foods the day after. Stick to one small to medium glass of wine with a meal once or twice a week.

Look after your gut

Overgrowth of unhelpful yeasts in the gut, such as candida, can contribute to, or exacerbate sugar cravings. Ironically, eating sugar and high-starch foods makes the candida overgrowth worse, so we become stuck in a catch-22 situation.

To help solve this, try taking a high-strength, good quality probiotic supplement such as ProVen’s Adult Probiotic 25 Billion loaded with friendly bacteria.

Continue reading

Slash sugar in your diet without going into shock

by | Jan 22, 2014 | Diet, Sensible Eating, Sugars | 0 comments

Sugar From the sweetener you stir into your morning coffee to the after-dinner dessert you can’t resist, the amount of sugar you consume between breakfast and bedtime adds up quickly.

Americans down more than 22 teaspoons a day, according to the USDA, which is more than double what experts recommend. At the same time, research links diets high in added sugar to increased risk for diabetes, heart attack and stroke.

So what’s the best way to slash sugar without sending your relentless sweet tooth into shock?

“Save your sweet budget for things that taste great, like dessert,” suggested Jacob Teitelbaum, a physician and author of “Beat Sugar Addiction Now.”

Use the following strategies to cut sugar where it won’t be missed and ward off cravings without feeling deprived.

Commit to a sugar quota.

The first step to reducing your sugar intake: Figure out exactly how much of the sweet stuff you’re shoveling in. Find the grams of sugar on a nutrition label and divide that number by four. That’s how many teaspoons of sugar a food or drink contains. The American Heart Association recommends that women limit themselves to no more than six teaspoons or 24 grams of sugar per day and men no more than nine teaspoons or 36 grams. The good news: How you spend those spoonfuls is entirely up to you, said Teitelbaum.

Know what counts as sugar.

Natural sweeteners like evaporated cane juice, agave nectar, honey and fruit juice concentrates might have healthy advantages over refined sugar and high fructose corn syrup, but that doesn’t mean they should be excluded from your sugar budget. Also, don’t be fooled by words like “organic” or “raw” in front of a sweetener’s name – it’s still sugar.

Don’t fear all artificial sweeteners.

Sugar substitutes shouldn’t be feared, but some are healthier than others, said Teitelbaum. He recommends naturally derived, filtered zero-calorie sweeteners such as stevia and erythritol. “Keep in mind that brand matters in terms of taste,” he said. Unless stevia is properly filtered, it can leave a bitter, licorice-like aftertaste. Sweet Leaf is a good option, as are Truvia and PureVia, which are blends of stevia and erythritol. If there’s no stevia in sight and all you have to choose from are the traditional pink (saccharin), yellow (sucralose) and blue (aspertame) packets of chemical-based sweeteners, pick pink. “There’s a very long safety record with Sweet’n Low,” said Teitelbaum.

Don’t drink your fruit.

Sweetened fruit juices are one of the biggest sources of added sugar in our diets. Some varieties contain more than a teaspoon of sugar per ounce along with little real fruit. For example, a 15.2-ounce bottle of Tropicana grape juice drink packs 72 grams – 18 teaspoons’ worth – of sugar and contains only 30 percent juice.

Find good-tasting soda alternatives.

Like fruit juice, soft drinks do serious damage in the sugar department. A 20-ounce bottle of Cherry Coca-Cola is loaded with 70 grams of sugar, for example. Teitelbaum suggests switching to coconut water, which contains a fraction of the sweet stuff (a 14-ounce bottle of Zico Natural has 60 calories and 12 grams of sugar) plus at least 500 mg of potassium per serving. Or look for beverages sweetened with stevia or erythritol, like SoBe Lifewater, Vitamin Water Zero or Zevia zero-calorie soda.

Continue reading

Most People Know That Soda Leads To Weight Gain — But Not How Many Calories Are In Soda: Study

by | Jan 7, 2014 | Artificial Sweeteners, Sugars | 0 comments

Soda Even though it’s widely known that soda can contribute to weight gain, the majority of adults don’t actually know how many calories are in a bottle of soda, a new study reveals.

The research, published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and based on data from 3,926 adults, shows that eight in 10 adults — 84.4 percent — know that sugar-sweetened beverages can promote weight gain. However, nearly the same percentage of adults — 81 percent — did not know (or inaccurately stated) the number of calories in 24 ounces of soda. (There are 251 to 350 calories in a 24-ounce soda).

In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers found that knowledge about sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain, as well as the calorie information of sugar-sweetened beverages, differed by sex, household income, education level and race.

Continue reading