What role does sugar play in our diet?
There are few people who can resist the taste of sweet foods. We are born with a preference for sweets, and it remains with us throughout our lives. However, too much of a good thing can lead to problems such as dental cavities, obesity and the health complications related to being overweight and obese (for example, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, and heart disease). Problems such as osteoporosis and vitamin and mineral deficiencies can also occur when high-sugar foods replace more nutritionally balanced foods. The solution for being able to satisfy our sweet tooth, without the disadvantages of sugar, was the invention of nonnutritive sweeteners. But is it really possible to have your cake and eat it too?
For many years, numerous fad diets have claimed that sugar is to blame for the obesity epidemic in our country. While our intake of sugar has gone up, weight gain will occur with the consumption of extra calories from any food, not just sugar. The Dietary Guidelines state that we are to choose beverages and foods to moderate our intake of sugars. In the United States, the number-one source of added sugars is non-diet soft drinks (soda or pop). Other major sources are sweets and candies, cakes and cookies, and fruit drinks and fruitades. Limiting your intake of these foods and avoiding foods with high amounts of added sugars is the best way to control your intake. A food is likely to be high in sugar if any one of these names appears first or second in the ingredients list on your food label:
- Brown sugar
- Corn sweetener
- Corn syrup
- Dextrose
- Fructose
- Fruit-juice concentrate
- Glucose
- High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
- Honey
- Invert sugar
- Lactose
- Malt syrup
- Maltose
- Molasses
- Raw sugar
- Sucrose
- Syrup