A recent
report showed that the average American guzzles about fifty-three
gallons of soda pop each year. Since the 60’s the average U.S. citizen
has increased their annual intake of added sugars by twenty four pounds
which brings the total average intake of sugar to over 100 pounds per
year. That equals out to about 700-800 calories per day of added sugars
that are expanding waistlines and crowding out more nutritious and less
calorie dense foods.
To make matters worse, there is a growing body of evidence (pun
intended), that indicates that the overly sweetened American diet is
contributing directly to such health problems as diabetes and heart
disease.
If you say you don’t think you use too much sugar think again, only
about one fourth of the sugar Americans consume is added by the consumer
(sugar over cereal). More than two thirds comes from factory produced
foods like snacks and drinks. Next time you are shopping check the
labels for ingredients, you may find sugar in such unsuspected places as
a can of green beans.
According to a recent government food consumption survey, soft drinks
now account for one third of the caloric sweeteners (as opposed to so
called non-caloric sweeteners like equal and sweet-n-low), we consume.
Sweets and sugars account for 16 percent, sweetened grain based foods
(cookies and pastries), another 13 percent and fruit drinks 10 percent,
breakfast cereals, other grains, milk products (yogurt, ice cream),
vegetables fruit and fruit juices making up the rest.
Nutrition experts say the situation has gotten much more serious in
recent years as Americans have switched to low fat and fat free foods as
a means of weight control. This approach has backfired because many
people wrongly assume that if a food is fat free it is healthier and has
fewer calories. There are three main flavor enhancers in processed
foods, fat, salt and sugar. If you remove fat you can be sure that sugar
and or salt is making up the difference for flavors sake.
The body makes little distinction between ordinary white refined sugar
and sweeteners like honey, raw sugar and fruit sugar. Aside from the few
vitamins in these other sweeteners, compared to refined sugar, sugar is
sugar. Most sweet processed foods are calorie rich and nutrient
deficient. While experts are predicting an ever worsening epidemic of
diseases related to over consumption of sugar laden foods and beverages
the are steps you can take to curb your incidental sugar intake.
The first and most effective thing you can do is to limit your
consumption of sodas and other sugar sweetened beverages. A simple first
step to that end is for every soda you consume, drink and equal amount
(12-16 oz.), of water before your next soda. This way you effectively
cut your soda intake by half and increase the water your body needs for
optimum health. Once you get used to this regimen put two waters between
each soda and so on. Eventually you will be optimizing water intake and
drinking very few sodas each day.
Another thing that will help cut calories from sugar is to eat fewer
refined and processed foods. Don’t buy a can of green beans, buy them
fresh and steam them. Look at food labels and avoid over processed
foods, in this way you will not only be taking in less sugar but you
will also be getting better overall nutrient from the foods you eat.
A third way to cut sugar intake is to crave less sugar by increasing the
fruit in your diet. The actual gram of sugar to gram of fiber ratio in
fruit is very low, you would have to eat six apples to equal the sugar
in a can of soda, and increasing natural fructose through fruit
consumption keeps dietary fiber up as well as nutrient rich vitamins and
minerals. |
