Demonizing
particular foods and specific categories of foods, such as carbs or
fats, is a peculiarly American trait. If you are over 30 years old,
you watched margarine dethrone butter only to be dethroned when
butter was restored to its former glory. You watched eggs disappear
from refrigerators only to be welcomed back as an excellent source of
protein. Remember
when fat-free diets were promoted? A few years later when the
Mediterranean diet was introduced, we learned that all fats were not
evil. Some,
in fact, were good for us.
Is
sugar the latest food to be demonized? Is it addictive? Do you crave
a sugar fix?
As
a nation, two facts are undisputed. We are getting heavier,
and we are consuming more sugar—in fact, 30
percent
more than in 1970. The average American consumes 350 calories a day
in the form of sugar, mostly in sugared beverages. According to
researchers, even drinking one
12-ounce can
of regular soda boosts the risk factors for heart disease by 25
percent.
If
you’re going to locate all of the sugar you are consuming, you will
need to become a very clever food detective. Sugar is hidden in
processed foods, such as breakfast cereals, bread and spaghetti
sauce. And it regularly is masked under different names, for example,
sugar, brown sugar, fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, malted
corn syrup, barley syrup and molasses. And although federal
regulations require listing the main ingredient on products first,
you won’t necessarily find sugar listed even when it is the key
item. Listing the different kinds of sugars as separate ingredients
effectively circumvents this requirement.
Even
when we know we are consuming sugar, we have a hard time resisting.
In The End of
Overeating, author
David
Kessler
asserts that foods that combine fat, salt and sugar (and are,
incidentally, accessible on a 24/7 basis) alter brain chemistry and
trigger an impulse to eat more.
The
increase in sugar consumption and sugar’s possible link to the
epidemic of obesity have triggered questions
about the relative virtues (or vices) of corn syrup versus natural
honey versus white sugar. Because results are inconclusive and in
some cases conflicting, some of us have simply tuned out the argument
and are switching to sugar substitutes. If life gives us lemons, we
say, we can still make sugar-free lemonade.
To
be fair, sugar substitutes are not without their critics, but here
are the current options if you are determined to avoid the evils of
sugar:
Stevia
is made from a plant leaf and is considered generally safe. Product
names are Truvia, PureVia and SweetLeaf.
Sucralose
is made by chemically altering sugar molecules. It is considered the
safest sugar substitute by the Center
for Science
in the Public Interest. Product name is Splenda.
Aspartame
is used in desserts, yogurts and beverages. Recent research on rats
raises questions about safety. Product names are NutraSweet and
Equal.
Saccharin
was one of the first sugar substitutes. Long-term studies indicate
it is safe to use. Product names are Sweet’N Low and Necta Sweet.
Acesulfame-K
is a calorie-free artificial sweetener. Some recent studies on rats
suggest this product is not safe. In some people, gas and bloating
have been reported. Product name is Sunett.
We
can be assured that if we remove sugar entirely from our diet, we
won’t be missing any essential nutrient. Except for blackstrap
molasses,
which contains a modest amount of calcium, iron and other nutrients,
sugar lacks significant nutritional
value. For
this reason, calories consumed as sugar, while boosting our energy,
are frequently referred to as empty
calories.
At
the same time, humankind is not likely to live by whole wheat
unsweetened bread alone. An occasional sweet treat brightens our day.
For some of us, though, occasional
is a word that does not appear in our sugar vocabulary. Sugar is to
us what one drink is to an alcoholic. We can’t stop with one cookie
or one scoop of ice cream. Consequently, we find it easier to abstain
entirely than to eat sugar in moderation.
Whatever
your strategy, be prepared to pay more for sugared treats. Several
giant food firms are predicting a shortage
that may drive prices up. Besides paying more, you may have to adjust
your perspective on sugar as new research challenges our current
thinking.
If history is our
guide, we can be certain of only one truth: sugar fashions, just like
clothing fashions, are subject to change. Until we learn otherwise,
however, minimizing the sugar in our diet is highly advisable.
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