How to Reduce Added Sugars Today!

Last week I discussed ways to find those sneaky added sugars that creep into your favorite foods when you least realize. So once you have identified them, what are some easy swaps and substitutes to help you cut them out and not feel deprived? Here are few ideas to reduce the added sugar in your diet!

1. Cut out regular sodas. Diet soda is still the best option between the two.

2. Choose canned fruit in it's own juice or light syrup (not heavy!). And don't drink the syrup...

3. Instead of desserts like cookies, ice cream or cake, try fresh fruit with a small amount of whip cream on top.

4. Be careful choosing breakfast cereals. Use the tools you learned last week to find the cereals that are the lowest in added sugars. Sugary, frosted cereals are just as bad as cookies and cakes.

5. Opt in to drinking more water or milk and less fruit juice/drinks. Even though 100% fruit juice has lots of great nutrients, like pop or fruit drinks calories add up quickly. So, limit yourself to 1/2 cup fruit juice daily.

6. Monitor your intake candy, sugary gum or other sweets. These are not only bad for your waistline, but bad for your heart, pancreas and teeth - to name a few!

7. Beware of added sugars in condiments such as ketchup or salad dressings. Sauces such as spaghetti or pizza sauce often contain sugars as well. Try making your own!

8. Limit sugar-sweetened teas and coffee drinks with flavored syrups. Many syrups are now available in sugar-free varieties. If you must have regular, try asking for half the number of pumps of syrup; I bet you will be just as satisfied with the resulting flavor!

9. Instead of donuts and rolls, snacks on fruits, veggies, low-fat cheese, whole-grain crackers (such as Triscuits) and low-fat/low-calorie yogurt (many have LOTS of added sugar).

10. Watch for sugar in other drinks such as sports drinks and energy drinks. Sports drinks are only meant to be used during an intense level of activity. I don't ever recommend my athletes drink them outside of this (even top-level athletes). Sports drinks are not a good fluid option at meals or to sip on during the day.

My advice: Pick 2 of the above ideas and implement them for 1-2 weeks. Once you have got them down, add a couple more each week or so. Implementing all 10 ideas can be overwhelming and unsatisfying. So take it slow and steady so that the changes you make are changes that stay.

Be Extraordinary,


RDKate

Added Sugars: The Scary Truth!

Halloween is that time of year when kids rejoice, parents groan and dentists cringe. The holiday by tradition is filled with sugar-glazed donuts, gooey caramel apples and chewy candies of all sorts. It is a good thing Halloween comes only once a year, as regular intake of these high-sugar foods wreaks havoc on our health in more ways than one. A study assessing the U.S. NHANES 2007-2008 data reported that added sugars provided 14.6% of total energy intake in individuals' diets with the main contributors being soda and energy/sports drinks, grain-based desserts, fruit drinks, dairy desserts and candy. The USDA recommends no more than 32gm (or 8 tsp) of added sugars/day per 2,000 Kcal of intake; this is equivalent to 6% of calories from added sugars.

So after the costumes are put away and the candy is eaten (or thrown away), what can you do on a daily basis to make sure your intake of added sugars isn't sky-high? First, lets review the facts:

• Added sugars are sugars and syrups that are added to foods or beverages during processing or preparation
• Added sugars does not include naturally occurring sugars such as those that occur in milk and fruits.
• While the body does not metabolize added vs. natural sugars differently, sources of natural sugars often contain other nutrients such as fiber or vitamins and minerals. These other nutrients benefit our overall level of health and also affect the total metabolism of the food.
• Foods that contain added sugars include: soft drinks, candy, cakes, cookies, pies, fruit drinks (fruitades, fruit punch, Tang), milk-based desserts and products (ice cream, sweetened yogurt and sweetened milk), grain products (sweet rolls, cinnamon toast, donuts, Pop-Tarts, sweetened cereals, Toaster Strudels, etc.). Clearly this is not an all-inclusive list!

If you are confident the product contains only added sugars, you can calculate the number of teaspoons of sugar in that food or drink. For every 4 grams of sugar on a food label (look at total carbohydrate) that is equal to 1 teaspoon of sugar in the food. Here are a few examples:

• One 12 fl. oz. can of regular soda = 40 grams sugar = 10 tsp sugar
• 1 jelly-filled donut = 36 grams sugar = 9 tsp sugar
• One 2 oz. (regular-sized) Snickers candy bar = 34 grams sugar = 8.5 tsp sugar
• 1 cup chocolate ice cream = 38 grams sugar = 9.5 tsp

The problem with targeting added sugars in our diet is that finding the added sugars is sometimes not as obvious. Many products that we believe to contain only natural sugars (such as, perhaps, yogurt) actually contain added sugars as well. With these foods, looking at the food label doesn't help. While the label lists "sugars", this doesn't always mean added sugars if there are natural sugars present and so often confuses consumers.

So, be an added sugar detective! The next time you are looking at a product, find the ingredient list. If any of these ingredients are listed, the product contains added sugars:
-brown sugar                     -invert sugar                  -anhydrous dextrose
-corn sweetener                -lactose                          -confectioners powdered sugar
-corn syrup                        -maltose                        -corn syrup solids
-dextrose                           -malt syrup                    -maple syrup
-fructose                            -molasses                     -nectars
-fruit juice concentrates     -raw sugar                     -white granulated sugar
-glucose                             -sucrose                        -cane juice, cane sugar
-high-fructose corn syrup   -sugar
-honey                                -syrup

Remember, too, that ingredients are listed by weight. So if an added sugar is one of the first few ingredients, the product is likely high in added sugar.

So what are some good ways to reduce added sugars in your diet? Come back next week to find out!

Be Extraordinary,


RDKate