The consumption of sugar has increased enormously worldwide, causing major health concerns. Our ancient ancestors consumed about four pounds of sugar a year, mainly through fruit intake and, occasionally, seasonally collected honey. Only about 400 years ago did sugar begin to enter the common diet. Sugar consumption in the present era started rising in the 20th century to today’s high in the U.S. of about 150 pounds of sugar per person per year. That is about 1/2 a pound per day for the average American. Most of this increase is due to two major sources, sweetened beverages (sodas, fruit juices, sports drinks) and hidden sugars in processed foods – which some experts describe as “food-like products.”
Americans face several major health-related problems resulting from huge increases in sugar intake. That is why this topic is important. Currently, the rates of overweight and diabetes (type 2) are soaring. High sugar intake can result in many negative health consequences, such as high blood pressure, elevated fats in the blood (cholesterol, triglycerides), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease that can lead to cirrhosis, cancer, heart disease, and even early death. There has been a 700% increase in the incidence of diabetes in the United States since the 1960s. Presently, one in eleven people in the U.S. has diabetes and one in four in the Veterans’ Affairs system. One in four teens is pre-diabetic or diabetic.
Sugar is found in more than 80% of packaged foods, hidden in the list of ingredients. So, even if you are careful about your diet, you are probably taking in more sugar than you realize or that your body needs. Sugar is addictive, and some say more than cocaine. Sugar has an effect on the brain in the same area that cocaine does. It causes the production of a feel-good chemical called dopamine. Like drugs, it desensitizes the pleasure center in the brain, meaning that it takes more and more of the chemical (i.e., sugar) to produce the dopamine feel-good effect.
Manufacturers of packaged foods want to keep the information about added sugars as hidden as possible because they want people to become addicted to their products and buy more and more. About 50% of our sugar consumption is “hidden” in foods. There are over 50 common names the food industry uses for sugars: cane juice crystals, Florida crystals, fruit juice concentrate, brown rice syrup, barley malt, evaporated cane juice, sucanat, honey, molasses, agave nectar, high fructose corn syrup, to name just a few. When reading a list of ingredients on a label, the manufacturer might use two or three of these sugars in small amounts, so they appear low on the ingredient list, but added up, actually comprise a significant amount of sugar. Some of the hidden sources of sugar are in things like yogurt, salad dressings, cereals, catsup, barbecue sauce, mustard, and bread. I have even seen it added to bottled horseradish! My latest experience with added sugars involved Triscuits. The original Triscuit did not contain sugar. The new varieties have added sugar, but the company continues to promote their crackers as healthful.
If we want to keep ourselves and our families healthy, we need to reduce our sugar intake. My next blog will discuss the physiology of sugar in the body and why it causes such havoc with our metabolism. But, for now, here are some suggestions about what you can do to reduce the amounts of both obvious and hidden sugars in your diet.
- Learn to read food labels. You need to look at the serving size, sometimes a small bag of something will have 2 1/2 servings, so the calorie count, amount of sugar, fats, and fiber are only calculated on that small serving.
- Stop drinking sweetened liquids – that includes sodas, both sugar sweetened and artificially sweetened, fruit juices and fruit drinks, sports drinks, chocolate milk, nut milks and soy milk with added sugar, and sweet tea.
- Become aware of the ingredient list on packaged foods. Look for the hidden sugars. Substitute healthy, non-sugared foods. For example: instead of bottled salad dressing, use oil and vinegar or lemon juice, use bread and bread products that are manufactured without added sugar like German rye and pumpernickel bread or Ezekiel products, buy plain yogurt and add your own fresh or frozen fruit.
- Try to stay away from manufactured, processed, packaged foods. As well as having both obvious and hidden sugars, they are often of low nutritional value and reduced in fiber.
- For sweets, try to concentrate on eating fresh fruits. The natural sugars in fruit are absorbed slowly because of the fiber in the fruit and fruit is high in vitamins and minerals.
- Go through your pantry and refrigerator and throw away foods that contain sugar or hidden sugars. When you shop for food, make every effort possible to read and understand food labels and to avoid purchasing manufactured/processed food-like products and sweetened drinks.
- It will take a while to tame your sugar desire. Remember, sugar is addictive.
Good luck in all your efforts in getting healthy! The next blog will help you understand the different kinds of sugars, their effects on body functions, and their role in the development of chronic diseases.
