April 24th, 2014

You may have heard about the new book by Eve Schaub called, “Year of No Sugar”. I have not had the opportunity to review this book yet, but have read several reviews about the content. This article is not intended to review this book, but to spark a challenge about how much “added” sugar is actually in your current diet. I am not focusing on certain types of sugars (i.e. fructose) that were omitted in Schaub book, but just any type of added sugar.

So what is added sugar? “Added sugars are sugars and syrups that are added to foods or beverages when they are processed or prepared. This does not include naturally occurring sugars such as those in milk and fruits.”1 I feel I eat pretty healthy, and do indulge every so often, but I have noticed there are some unnecessary added sugars in my diet.

Why should someone care about this? Added sugars are unnecessary empty calories that are typically stored as fat.  They have also been linked to increased cardiovascular disease risk, weight gain, obesity, and can increase risk of diabetes.  Sugar can also affect our mood and can cause act as an addiction as injection of it can trigger the release of chemicals such as serotonin, opioids and dopamine. Over time, people can develop a tolerance for sugar, meaning they need more sugar for a feel-good "fix”.  This can cause a downward spiral in our overall health.

I could go on as the reasons to limit added sugar are plentifully, but for the sake of time, let’s get started! I am taking a 30 day no added sugar challenge and I challenge you the reader, to do the same.

To help you along the way, I am including a list of items and ingredients to look for to avoid added sugar in your challenge.  Typical products you want to be wary of are:

• regular soft drinks, energy drinks, and sports drinks
• candy
• cakes
• cookies
• pies and cobblers
• sweet rolls, pastries, and donuts
• fruit drinks and juices
• yogurts, ice cream
• processed items

Ingredients on food labels to look out for:

• anhydrous dextrose
• brown sugar
• confectioner's powdered sugar
• corn syrup
• corn syrup solids
• dextrose
• fructose
• high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
• honey
• invert sugar
• lactose
• malt syrup
• maltose
• maple syrup
• molasses
• nectars
• syrup
• raw sugar
• sucrose
• sugar
• white granulated sugar

Other names used for added sugars, but not recognized by the FDA as an ingredient name include cane juice, evaporated corn sweetener, fruit juice concentrate, crystal dextrose, glucose, liquid fructose, sugar cane juice, and fruit nectar.

Just cutting out added sugars is a challenge in itself, but if you want to make it a super-challenge, try cutting out all artificial sweeteners as well!! Your health and sweet tooth may thank you!

References

1http://www.choosemyplate.gov/weight-management-calories/calories/added-sugars.html

http://health.clevelandclinic.org/2014/04/added-sugar-added-risk-for-your-heart/

http://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-eating-tips/weird-effects-sugars-having-your-body

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