Sweet addiction: Could sugar be sabotaging your diet?

Um, yeah!
This is very eyeopening

It amazes me that sugar doesn't have quite the bad reputation it deserves. My clients come to me with all sorts of dietary concerns, but they often overlook the big elephant in the room. And that big elephant is sugar! While most of us know that sugar isn't good for us, I don't think that we realize just how bad it is, and how detrimental it can be to your body, and your diet and fitness goals.

According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, sugar should be curbed for the following reasons:

* You can't afford the empty calories.
* Sugar-sweetened beverages promote obesity and may raise the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
* Certain sugars raise triglycerides.
* Certain sugars may boost abdominal fat.
* Sugar may raise the risk of gout.
* Eating sugar may promote overeating.

I realized just how bad sugar was about 14 years ago (I had just become a nutritionist). I was addicted to frozen yogurt. It was the perfect low-calorie, "fat-free" treat. I would indulge in a moderate-sized cup every evening. Then, as I read up on sugar, and read the nutrition label on my favorite "fat-free" frozen yogurt, I realized that this guiltless treat, might be a lot guiltier than I had imagined. So, I gave up my frozen yogurt and replaced it with plain yogurt topped with fruit, and dropped a few pounds without even trying! I also woke up feeling better the next day and had noticeably less puffiness and bloating in my face and body. Now that's just my story, but I could go on and on about stories of friends and clients who gave up sugar and were amazed by the results.



Your sugar allowance

So how much sugar can you eat in a given day? Most scientists, doctors and nutritionists agree that women should aim for 100 calories (61/2 teaspoons of sugar or 25 grams) per day, while men can consume 150 calories of sugar (91/2) teaspoons or 38 grams). In addition, we should aim to avoid all sugar-sweetened beverages and even limit fruit juice to 1 cup per day. The only sugar to "not worry about" is the sugar found in whole fresh fruit, milk and plain yogurt (yes, even fruit yogurts have added sugar). Keep in mind that these numbers are just goals, even if you just reduce your sugar intake to 30-35 grams for women and 40-45 grams for men, you are moving in the right direction!

Sugar sleuth

Most of you probably realize that cakes, cookies and candy carry a hefty dose of sugar, but there are many other foods filled to the brim with sugar that you might not realized. In order to become an educated sugar consumer, you should pay close attention to your food labels. When reading the food label, take a look underneath the "total carbohydrates" to find out how many grams of sugar is contained in 1 serving. If the food contains little or no milk or fruit (which have naturally occurring sugars), then you will know the number of "added grams of sugar" that are contained. Cross-reference this with your daily allowance, about 25 grams for women and about 38 grams for men, to decide if this food fits into your allowance.

The lowdown on your favorite foods

In order to figure out how many teaspoons of sugar are in your favorite foods, simply divide the number of grams on the nutrition label by 4. So if a food had 16 grams of sugar that would equal 4 teaspoons of added sugar.

FOOD


TEASPOONS OF SUGAR

Breakfast foods




¾ cup Honeynut Cheerios 2½ tsp

1 cup Fruit Loops 3 tsp

1 cup of Corn Chex <1 tsp

¾ cup Frosted Flakes 3+ tsp

1 cup Kashi GoLean Crunch 3½ tsp

¾ cup Cracklin Oat Bran 4 tsp

1 ¼ cup Rice Krispies 1 tsp

1 cup Quaker Oatmeal squares 2½ tsp

1 packet Quaker Instant Oatmeal: Cinnamon & Spice 3½ tsp

1 packet Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa 4 tsp

Kashi GoLean Cookies and Cream Bar 9 tsp

Kashi TLC Trail Mix Bar 1½ tsp

Nature's Valley Crunchy Granola Bar 2½ tsp


Desserts




½ cup Edy's Slow Churned Light Ice Cream, Cookie Doug3½ tsp


Regular Cup: TCBY Old fashioned Frozen Yogurt 6 tsp

Dairy Queen Heath Blizzard 26 tsp

Pre-Packaged Small Rice Krispie Treat 1¾ tsp

½ cup Trader Joes Lemon Sorbet 5 tsp

3 Oreo cookies 3½ tsp


Beverages

20-ounce Sprite 16 tsp

Starbucks Grande Vanilla Latte 4 tsp

20-ounce Minute Maid Lemon-aid 17 tsp

16.9-ounce Nestea Iced Tea 12 tsp

20-ounce Lemon-Lime Gatorade 8½ tsp


Sugar aliases

When reading nutrition labels and ingredient lists, be on the lookout for sugar aliases. There are many different ways that sugar can go undercover. Don't be duped! Be on the lookout for these terms:

* Fructose
* Glucose
* Dextrose
* High fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
* Honey
* Maple syrup
* Molasses
* Raw sugar
* Brown sugar
* Table sugar
* Confectioner's sugar
* Baker's sugar
* Powdered sugar
* Agave
* Nectar
* Fruit juice concentrate

I hope that you are convinced. I truly believe that it is the best diet modification that you can make. So go for it! Start counting your sugar grams