Dear Readers,

We Americans eat a lot of sugar. Why? Because it tastes good. The American Heart Association recommends no more than six added teaspoons (24 grams) daily for women and eight teaspoons (30 grams) daily for men. While most Americans’ sugar consumption comes from soda pop, there is also hidden sugar in many foods.

To be clear, we are talking about added sugar, not naturally occurring sugar found in fruit (fructose) and milk (lactose). Sugar is not inherently bad for you; the excessive amount becomes a problem.  Lots of sugar means lots of calories, leading to weight gain and putting one at greater risk for certain diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires food manufacturers to list all the ingredients in their food products on the label. Food labels also must list the amount of sugar in grams per serving. While most of us recognize sugar, or sucrose, other ingredients are very similar to sugar, and the following should be noted:

• Any food with sugar in its name; for example, coconut sugar or date sugar
• Cane juice
• Caramel
• Dextrin
• Dextrose
• Fruit juice
• Fruit juice concentrate
• Glucose
• Glucose solids
• High fructose corn syrup
• Honey
• Maltose
• Molasses 
• Nectar; for example, apricot or agave nectar
• Sweet sorghum
• Syrup and any food with syrup in its name, such as rice syrup or maple syrup        

Here are some practical tips for decreasing sugar in your diet:

• Focus on fresh foods. These will not have added sugars.
• Eat five servings of fruits and vegetables each day.  These foods will provide fiber, vitamins, and minerals, which will help with cravings. The fruit will also help satisfy a sweet tooth.
• If you like to have sweets in your everyday diet, try limiting them to 100-200 calories daily. You may also consider having dessert only once or twice a week.

Until next time, be healthy!

Dear Dietitian