Tag Archives: added sugar

12 Foods Your Dentist Won’t Eat

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A fully grown male deer. The carbon body of a 2007 Shelby Mustang Funny Car. Tom Cruise. And all the sugar and other sweeteners you, the average American, will eat this year. What do they all have in common? They all weigh approximately 140 pounds.

Life is sweet, all right—so sweet that each of us will eat the sugar equivalent of 6,047 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in the next 12 months. Impossible, right? Sure, you like a piece of birthday cake now and again, and you’re not above raiding the kids’ Halloween stash or Christmas stockings or even stealing a serving of ice cream once a week or so. But 140 pounds of the sweet stuff? How can that be?

The authors of the best-selling weight-loss books, Eat This, Not That!, reveal 12 of the most sugar-packed foods in America. Some are ice cream treats, sure. But just as many are regular food products that you’d never in a million years consider “desserts”—that is, until now. Steer clear of these 12 sugar-packed foods. Your blood sugar—and teeth!—depend on it.

12. Most Sugar-Packed Canned Product

 
Del Monte Peach Chunks in Heavy Syrup (1/2 cup)

23 g sugars
100 calories
0 g fat

Unlike most food on this list, these peaches aren’t bona fide junk food; they are, after all, still fruit. But why manufacturers feel the need to can, package, and bottle nature’s candy with excess sugar is a question we will never stop asking. In this case, the viscous sugar solution clings to the fruit like syrup to a pancake, soaking every bite with utterly unnecessary calories. Looking for cheap sources of fruit to have on hand at any time? Opt for the frozen stuff—it’s picked at the height of season and flash frozen on the spot, keeping costs low and nutrients high.

Eat This Instead!

Dole Frozen Sliced Peaches (3/4 cup)
10 g sugars
50 calories
0 g fat

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Soda Makers Scramble to Fill Void as Sales Drop

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By Stephanie Strom, New York Times
 

Rufina Cowboy removes weeds in the community garden near her home in Cuba, N.M. With her doctor's help, Ms. Cowboy realized that sugar from soda was contributing to her weight gain, and she now drinks mostly water.

In much the same way their ancestors on the prairie had to check their guns at the door of the saloon, the 320 students in the Faulkton Area School District in tiny Faulkton, S.D., will be required to dispose of all carbonated soda containers before stepping into school buildings.

“We’re not trying to be the pop police or anything, but we felt like we were sending a mixed message by having a healthy lunch program and yet letting everyone walk around with sodas with a bunch of sugar in them,” said Joel Price, superintendent of the district.

Although schools have been removing sodas and other sugary drinks from vending machines for the last few years, the Faulkton district is one of the first in the country to institute a ban, according to the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, which works to reduce childhood obesity.

The school cafeteria will serve water, low-fat milk and fruit juices, and those beverages, as well as sports drinks and noncaffeinated diet sodas sold in vending machines, are all that will be available on school property. “Sure, there will be some opposition to it, but this is the way things are changing, like it or not,” said Kyle Ortmeier, the 17-year-old behind the school’s wellness campaign.

Kyle Ortmeier, a junior, and Joel Price, superintendent of a South Dakota school district that banned sugary soft drinks.

Cold, bubbly, sweet soda, long the American Champagne, is becoming product non grata in more places these days. Schools are removing sugary soft drinks from vending machines at a faster pace, and local governments from San Antonio to Boston are stepping up efforts to take them out of public facilities as the nation’s concerns about obesity and its costs grow.

Last year, the average American drank slightly under two sodas a day, a drop in per capita consumption of about 16 percent since the peak in 1998, according to Beverage Digest, a trade publication.

What began as a slow decline accelerated in the middle of the last decade and now threatens some of the best-known brands in the business. Coke and Pepsi are relying more than ever on the “flat” drinks and bottled waters in their portfolios and on increases in the price of sodas, forcing die-hard drinkers to pay more to feed their sugar habits.

“The question is, Are we seeing a modest, multiyear decline that will bottom out? Or are we seeing the beginning of a paradigm shift away from carbonated soft drinks?” said John Sicher, publisher of Beverage Digest and a longtime observer of the industry. “I don’t think anyone knows yet, but I think there are continuing headwinds against the category that aren’t abating.”

Health advocates are cautiously optimistic about the decline. “It is really important because sugary soft drinks are the No. 1 source of calories in our diets,” said Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “We get more calories from sodas and sugary drinks than any other individual food — cake, cookies, pizza, anything.”

But Ms. Wootan and others are worried about what may be taking the place of carbonated soft drinks in the American diet. They note the increasing appetite for energy drinks, loaded with sugar as well as caffeine, and noncarbonated sports drinks, which may have as much sugar as sodas.

“This is the next stage of where battle lines being drawn,” said Dr. Harold Goldstein, executive director of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, who often totes around a jar filled with two and a third cups of sugar, the amount consumed by drinking a soda every day for one week. “Beverage companies are putting more and more emphasis on selling fortified beverages, as if fortified means healthier when in fact it often means more salt added to sugar.”

Not surprisingly, the country’s largest soda companies insist their carbonated soft drinks business will still grow, if not at as fast a clip as it has historically. “This is not a zero-sum game,” said Sandy Douglas, president of Coca-Cola North America.

But even they concede that unless the industry stumbles upon what it calls the holy grail, an all-natural sweetener with no calories, the future is going to be more firmly anchored in noncarbonated drinks. “The health and wellness trend is huge, permanent and important,” Mr. Douglas said. “My crystal ball says that a smart beverage company will sell a variety of products, and some of them will have bubbles and some of them won’t.”

Coca-Cola and its competitors have spent the last two decades decreasing their reliance on carbonated soft drinks anyway.

For most of its history, for instance, PepsiCo sold Pepsi. It bought Mountain Dew in 1964 and 20 years later, introduced a soda called Slice. It bought the international rights to 7Up and added Mug Root Beer to its lineup in 1986.

It played around with those brands, adding diet and other versions. Then, in 1992, it signed a deal with Lipton to sell ready-to-drink teas that initiated a spate of joint ventures, acquisitions and new product introductions. It added brands like Aquafina, SoBe and Sierra Mist — many not carbonated.

“As a business, we first saw this coming several years ago, which led us to get ahead of it with things like Gatorade and Tropicana that have done very well for us,” said Simon Lowden, chief marketing officer for PepsiCo’s North American beverage arm.

The competition, Coca-Cola and Dr Pepper, pursued much the same strategy. All three companies amassed stables of brands that took them far beyond their foundations in carbonated soda, though it remained the cash cow.

At the time, Mr. Lowden said, they were driven by growing multiculturalism on the home front and their expanding global footprint, but their broad portfolios also have cushioned them from the impact of changing attitudes toward soda as the nation wages its war on obesity.

Ms. Cowboy and her daughter, Tamara Lewis, 12, sample a tomato while preparing dinner. They grew the vegetables in the community garden.

Rufina Cowboy realized how big a role it played in her weight when her daughters Tamara Lewis, 12, and Lisa Cowboy, 11, persuaded her to go on a diet after participating in a program in their hometown, Cuba, N.M. The program, aimed at teaching children about healthy eating, is underwritten by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Ms. Cowboy started walking more, eating fresh fruits and vegetables and cutting back on meats. “I kept in there, walking on the trail here and eating better, trying to lose weight, but it wasn’t working,” she said.

Her doctor told her it might be the soda she was drinking. “I said, ‘I don’t drink that much,’ but then he added up the sugar in what I was drinking, and it was 25 pounds a year,” Ms. Cowboy said. “I said, ‘Oh, my gosh.’ ” She now drinks mostly water.

Lisa used to drink Dr Pepper. “It makes you dehydrated,” she said. Both she and Tamara, who has juvenile diabetes, have lost weight. Their mother has lost 20 pounds.

In spite of consumers like the Cowboys, beverage companies have been making more money on carbonated soft drinks by raising prices. That allowed revenue from carbonated soft drinks to reach a record high last year of $75.2 billion in the United States, according to Beverage Digest.

Drinking Less Soda: In recent years, Americans have been trading soda consumption for bottled water and other beverages.

In one effort to assuage health-conscious consumers, the companies have been making smaller packages with a wider range of calories. Coca-Cola used to sell roughly eight sizes of packaging, from six-packs of 8-ounce cans to 2-liter plastic bottles. Today it sells more than twice as many types of packages, from a 32-pack of cans sold in warehouse stores to six-packs of 7.5-ounce “mini” cans, sales of which, Mr. Douglas said, “are on fire.”

The big three beverage companies are also endlessly tinkering with combinations of sweeteners and sugars to lower calories without altering taste. PepsiCo, for instance, introduced Pepsi Next, which uses a blend of sweeteners to deliver half the calories of a standard Pepsi, and on Monday, Coke announced it would test-market similarly slimmed-down versions of Sprite and Fanta

Dr Pepper Snapple has gone even further with 10-calorie versions using a blend of artificial sweeteners and high-fructose corn syrup in many of its carbonated soft drinks. “We have to innovate in ways of getting calories out of beverages and still providing the taste experience people don’t find in today’s diet drinks,” said Jim Trebilcock, executive vice president at Dr Pepper.

Most recently, the beverage companies have gone on the offense against New York City’s longstanding campaign against soft drinks with their first advertising ever in the city subways, promoting these strategies as strides to combat obesity. “We’re dedicated to helping you choose what’s right for you,” one ad says.

 Link: nyti.ms/KYe2Kz

 

 

 

Breaking Your Sugar Addiction

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The 4-Week Plan to Stop Sugar Cravings

By Lauri Watson, Registered Dietitian

That white, powdery substance just makes you feel good. You can’t get it off your mind, and you keep coming back for more. The more you have it, the more you want it! But even when you try to stay away from it, it finds ways to sneak into your life almost daily. What can you do? 

We’re not talking about some dangerous or illegal drug here; we’re talking about sugar. Although it’s considered harmless in comparison, sugar, in excess, can cause a host of problems for a lot of us: cravings, binge eating, weight gain and heart disease among them. According to the USDA, the average American consumed 151 pounds of sugar in 1999—an all time high. Since then, consumption has dropped slightly and in 2010 the average American consumed 132 pounds. (To put that into perspective, consider that the number was just 4 pounds in the year 1700.) At least half of the sugar we consume comes from soft drinks, fruit drinks, and sports drinks. The rest sneaks into our diets in the form of ketchup, teriyaki sauce, chocolate milk and the obvious sweets like cookies, cakes, ice cream and even breakfast cereal. Surprisingly, some “healthy foods” such as yogurt and instant oatmeal can pack in 20-30 grams (5-7 teaspoons) of unnecessary added sugar! It seems like we’re drowning in sugar, and nobody is wearing a life vest. 

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that we limit our daily sugar consumption to 7% or less of our daily calorie intake—that’s about 6 teaspoons (100 calories) for women and 9 teaspoons (150 calories) for men. But that adds up fast. Just one 12-ounce can of regular soda contains 8-10 teaspoons of sugar and 130-150 calories. One glazed donut contains 6 teaspoons, and a half cup ice cream (the standard serving size, although most portions are much, much larger) contains 4 grams of added sugar! 

Why Should You Care? Is Sugar Actually Bad for You?

Well, aside from the increased bulge around the waistline, diets high in sugar are strongly linked to an increased risk for type 2 diabetes, elevated triglycerides, low HDL (good) cholesterol levels, and heart disease. Sugar intake has also been linked to depression, migraines, poor eyesight, autoimmune diseases (such as arthritis, and multiple sclerosis), gout and osteoporosis. 

Recent research has shown that a high intake of carbohydrates, including sugar, releases a feel good chemical in the brain called serotonin. Think of how you feel after indulging in a high sugar meal or treat—almost euphoric, right? The high of a sugar rush is temporary though. After a few hours—or even a few minutes—you start to crash and you become tired, fatigued and lethargic. 

Although sweet foods are tempting and delicious to most people (blame Mother Nature for that!), the more sugar you eat, the higher your tolerance becomes. So if you have a strong sweet tooth or intense cravings for sugar, chances are not that you were born that way, but that your dietary habits and food choices created the sugar monster you may have become. 

Fortunately, we can reverse this tolerance in just a couple of weeks by cutting out sugar. Once you have decreased your threshold, something that tasted perfectly sweet a few weeks ago, will begin to taste too sweet to eat, and that can help you reduce your intake of the sweet stuff. 

Cutting Out Sugar: A 4-Week Action Plan


While the occasional sweet treat won’t make or break your weight loss or your health, many people have trouble stopping after a sensible portion or saying no to sugar when it’s available. If you feel out of control around sugar, then a sugar “detox” is a great way to reduce your cravings, eat better, and bring sugar back to where it belongs: as an occasional treat that you consciously choose to eat in a mindful manner, not a daily treat occurrence that controls you.Follow this month-long plan to break your sugar addiction!

Week 1: Identify Sugar and Where It’s Hiding

The first step in conquering your sugar habit is to rid your pantry and refrigerator of added sugar. Some things (think ice cream, cookies and candy) are obvious, but most of us need to look closer at where the sugar in our diets is coming from. This will require a bit of label reading in the beginning, but after a while, it will become easier.In order to cut back on hidden or added sugar, scan the ingredients list of a food label. If you see any of the following terms listed, then sugar has been added to the product in one form or another and it is best left on the shelf at the store—especially if that sugar shows up within the first five ingredients of any food product. 

Agave nectar
Agave syrup
Barley malt
Beet sugar
Brown rice syrup
Brown sugar
Buttered syrup
Cane sugar
Cane juice
Cane juice crystals
Carob syrup
Confectioner’s sugar
Corn syrup
High fructose corn syrup
Corn sugar
Corn sweetener
Corn syrup solids
Crystalized fructose
Date sugar
Dextran
Dextrose
Diatase
Diastatic malt
Evaporated cane juice
Fructose
Fruit juice
Fruit juice concentrate
Glucose
Glucose solids
Golden sugar
Golden syrup
Grape sugar
Grape juice concentrate
Honey
Invert sugar
Lactose
Malt
Maltodextrain
Maltose
Maple syrup
Molasses
Raw sugar
Refiner’s syrup
Sorghum syrup
Sucanat
Sucrose
Sugar
Turbinado sugar
Yellow sugar 

This first week is about awareness. Reading labels before you buy—or bite. How many of your favorite foods contain hidden sugars in the top of their ingredients lists? 

Once you have identified the sources of sugar in your diet, clean out your kitchen. Throw out or donate all of the products that contain hidden or added sugars, including any juice, soda, candy, sweets and seemingly healthy snacks like granola bars, fruit and grain bars, instant oatmeal and sports drinks. This may sound drastic, but stay with me!

Remember, you don’t have to throw away everything that is sweet! Natural sugar, like the kind you find in whole fruit, contains vitamins, minerals and fiber, which are lost in the processing of juice. Milk contains naturally occurring sugars, but also provides calcium, vitamin D and protein. So unlike soda, fruit juices and other processed foods, whole fruit and dairy products provide us with essential vitamins and minerals that our bodies need. Be wary of certain fruit- or milk-based products that contain added sugars though: flavored milk, many yogurts, fruits canned or jellied in added sugar or syrups, and the like. Opt for unflavored skim or 1% milk, plain yogurt or Greek yogurt, and whole pieces of fruit. Remember, we are trying to cut out the 151 pounds a year of added sugar, not the naturally occurring sugar found in whole foods. 

Week 2: Stock Your Sugar-Free Kitchen

In one week, you’ve probably found lots of sugar in your diet. Some of it may have been obvious, like those frozen waffles or lattes from the local coffee joint. But others might not have been so clear, as sugar tends to lurk in many “diet” foods and lower-fat foods, added by manufacturers to make their low-cal offerings taste better.

Now that you know what to look for (and avoid), it’s time to replace the products you tossed with sugar-free counterparts. For example, replace high-sugar cereals with a whole grain cereal that contains little to no added sugars. Sweeten it naturally with fresh berries or half of a diced banana. Instead of snacking on candy or cookies, reach for a handful of nuts or some raw veggies and hummus. Replace sweetened yogurt with Greek yogurt or plain yogurt. Look back at week one and the foods you used to eat that contained sugar. Can you find no-sugar oatmeal? A healthier snack than a sugar-sweetened smoothie (how about a whole piece of fruit)? A more filling afternoon treat than that sugary “protein bar” (such as peanut butter on whole-grain crackers)?

When choosing a refreshing beverage to quench your thirst, keep in mind that you want to eat your calories, not drink them. Choose ice cold water flavored with a squeeze of fresh lemon or an orange slice. Or flavor unsweetened iced tea with fresh mint, crushed raspberries, or a squeeze of citrus.

One tip to help you avoid added sugar at the supermarket is to shop the perimeter of the grocery store as much as possible. Think about the general layout of a grocery store: The outside is home to fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, dairy products, and whole grain breads and the inside aisles are stocked with cookies, chips, soda, fruit juice, cake mixes, and other processed foods. Spend most of your time on the outside and only go down the inner aisles for specific products, like whole-grain pasta.

Never shop on an empty stomach and always shop with a list. Shopping while hungry can lead you to adding all kinds of snacks and impulse buys to your cart. Meal planning can be a tricky task at first, but following a meal plan is an important part of breaking the sugar addiction. It will help to keep you on track and help prevent stopping for fast food when you don’t have a game plan for dinner. Spend a little time on Sunday afternoons jotting down some meal ideas for throughout the week. Make a list of the food items you will need to make the meals you wrote down and stick to it! 

Week 3: Stop the Cravings

Now you really start to put your plan into action. You’ve identified the sources of added sugar in your diet and replaced those foods with healthier and more wholesome alternatives. Your kitchen is now set up for success!

This week’s focus should be on making a conscious effort to avoid sugary foods. When a craving strikes, try going for a walk or simply drinking a glass of water. Take a hot bath or get lost in a good book. Typically any craving will pass if you wait it out long enough. But it’s important to begin understanding the difference between true hunger and food cravings. If you are truly hungry, a handful of nuts or some raw veggies dipped in hummus will sound appetizing, so go ahead and eat one of your healthy snacks. But if you’re craving something sweet or a specific sugary food, use a distraction technique.

The first week of saying no to sugar will be the hardest, but the more diligently you stick to your plan, the better you’ll fare in the end. Even a tiny taste of sugar during this time period can lead to setbacks.

After a couple sugar-free weeks, your sugar threshold will start to decrease and you will find that you no longer crave sugar or sweets as you once did. As with any lifestyle change, the first couple of weeks are the hardest. Eventually, it will become habit to reach for a mint tea or piece of fruit instead of juice and candy. 

Week 4: Game Plan for Life

Now that you have yanked that sweet tooth, it’s time to devise a plan to prevent a sugar relapse. Although sugar isn’t necessary for health and it’s perfectly fine if you want to continue avoiding it, it probably isn’t realistic for most people to avoid all forms of sugar forever.

So if you want to allow a little sweetness back into your life, that’s OK. Moderation is key. Don’t let sugar and sweets become a daily habit. Instead, consider them to be special occasion treats only. With your lowered threshold for sweetness, that shouldn’t be too hard. But if you begin to indulge too often or overindulge over a short period of time (such as a weeklong vacation), you could find yourself back in trouble with sugar all over again.

If you slip up, don’t beat yourself up over it. Accept your action and decide to make a better decision next time and move on. Continue to experiment with your new, healthy foods and recipes. You’d be surprised at how many ways you can make treats healthier and use far less sugar than a recipe suggests.

And remember: It generally takes about 3-4 weeks for a new behavior to become habit, the most important thing is to stick with it.

 

Link: http://bit.ly/IB1dol

Break the Sugar Habit

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The average American is sugar-logged, consuming more than 140 pounds of added caloric sweeteners per year, according to the United States Department of Agriculture — that’s a 20 percent increase since 1970. There doesn’t appear to be a single, conspiratorial cause — some point to technology, which allows us to refine thousands of tons of barley, corn, fruits, rice, and sorghum into concentrated sugars available year-round; others speculate that the low-fat trend swung our nutritional pendulum in the direction of sugar. The results of our collective sweet tooth, though, are unmistakable: Sugar’s abundance is jeopardizing our health.

Bringing your body and mind back into a balanced relationship with sugar can help you maintain a healthy weight, reduce your risk of illness, boost your energy, and even out your mood. And it doesn’t have to be a course in misery. Our three-week sugar-reduction plan is designed to help you break the sugar habit gradually and painlessly. You’ll still have plenty of sweet — fruit, whole grains, and milk all contain naturally occurring sugar. “Cutting back on the added sugar in your diet while eating whole, naturally sweet foods will give you the physiological balance you need for long-term health,” says Dr. Jana Klauer. Best of all, what initially might feel like deprivation may eventually become a bonanza. By stemming the deluge of added sugars that usually overwhelm your taste buds, you’ll awaken your palate, allowing naturally sweet flavors to come alive.

Are you a sugar addict? Take our quiz. Ready to start the process? Week 1.

Our experts: Dr. Jana Klauer, author of “How the Rich Get Thin”; Dr. Kathleen DesMaisons, author of “Potatoes Not Prozac”; Kate Gilday, an herbalist who pracitces in upstate New York; Dr. Darna Dufour, a nutritional anthropologist at the University of Colorado.

Week 1: Raise Your Sugar Consciousness
During the first week, your goal is simply to become aware of your relationship to sugar — without changing your diet at all. By scanning ingredients lists and keeping a food diary, you’ll discover where the added sugars are hiding in your diet and notice when you succumb to sugar-laden foods.

Search For Sugars
Be aware that sugar has many guises — in fact, there are dozens of varieties of added sugar. Although it is unlikely you’ll remember all of them, you can keep some of the most common in mind (see “Sugar Glossary” at bottom of page). Familiar sweeteners like cane sugar, honey, and molasses are easy enough to spot; other common sugars include dextrose, fructose, fruit-juice concentrates, maltose, and sucrose.

High-fructose corn syrup is especially abundant in processed foods — and especially problematic. Its use has directly paralleled the rise in obesity in America, says Klauer. Derived from corn and inexpensive to produce, high-fructose corn syrup is a very concentrated sweetener. “Also, because fructose is metabolized through the liver,” says Klauer, “consuming high-fructose corn syrup strains the liver and has been linked to increased levels of triglycerides and total cholesterol.”

In your hunt for sugars, don’t search just in the expected places; also check breads, cereals, sauces, soups, and yogurts — in short, anything with a label. Nutrition labels don’t delineate added sugars — “sugars,” listed in grams, includes naturally occurring sugars — so it’s hard to determine how much you’re getting.

Keep in mind, though, that ingredients are listed in order of quantity, so if any type of sugar is listed in the first few ingredients, the food is most likely high in added sugars.

Start A Food Diary
For the next three weeks, keep a food diary to track the foods and beverages you consume every day. Beside every meal, snack, or drink, record the time of day and your mood, and keep note of any impulsive eating behaviors and food cravings. For the first week, keep close track of all sugar-containing foods, without trying to cut down at all. Read labels, and don’t forget the small servings — the teaspoon of sugar you add to your coffee or the mint you eat after lunch.

After a few days, you may notice a relationship between your eating patterns and your energy level — for example, an afternoon lull in energy followed by an intense craving for chocolate, or a sluggish feeling after eating sugary cereal for breakfast. Knowing your patterns will help you prepare for the weeks ahead.

Take it to the next level - Week 2.

Week 2: Prepare for the Sugar Cleanse
During the second week, you’ll focus on balancing your diet with healthy foods and timely meals. Before eliminating sugar altogether, says DesMaisons, “it’s critical to balance your body chemistry by eating the right proportion of healthy foods.” For some people, cutting out sugar “cold turkey” can cause withdrawal symptoms, such as headaches and irritability.

Eat Breakfast, Lunch, And Dinner
Skipping meals results in low blood-glucose levels, which can lead to impulsive eating, often of sweets. Try to eat every three to four hours, says Klauer, and keep healthy snacks on hand. Breakfast is particularly important, since your body has been fasting all night; skipping breakfast can trigger late-morning cravings for sweetened foods. And be sure to eat a breakfast that contains adequate protein. Protein will balance your blood sugar and make you feel full, leaving you less susceptible to quick-energy cravings. So get up in time to make yourself eggs, or have a piece of whole-grain toast with almond butter.

Focus On Whole, Unprocessed Foods
Processed, refined foods are a double whammy when it comes to sugar: They often contain added sugar, and they’re low in vital nutrients that help your body metabolize sugar. Whole foods, however, contain a complement of fiber, minerals, vitamins, and water, all of which help stabilize blood sugar.

This week, choose foods that are as close to their natural state as possible: brown rice rather than white rice, whole wheat bread instead of white, an apple instead of apple juice, and home-cooked soup over canned.

Nutrients such as B vitamins, calcium, chromium, copper, magnesium, vitamins C and E, and zinc are particularly important for healthy sugar metabolism. Foods rich in these vitamins and minerals include high-fiber whole grains, such as barley, oats, quinoa, and long-grain wild rice; protein-rich foods such as free-range chicken, eggs, fresh fish, legumes, tempeh, and unsweetened yogurt; fruits and vegetables; and healthy fats such as avocados, flaxseed oil, olive oil, nuts, and seeds.

Balance Each Meal
Balance your meals by eating complex carbohydrates in the company of proteins and healthy fats. The proteins and fats will help stabilize your blood sugar levels and keep you satiated longer, says Klauer. So rather than eating an apple or a cookie on its own, combine it with a handful of nuts or a piece of cheddar cheese. If you have spaghetti for dinner, choose whole wheat pasta and top it with roasted chicken.

Try These Healthy Choices:
Choose Healthier Oils
Make Spicy Tomato Soup
Make a Spring Vegetable Salad
Make Quinoa with Toasted Almonds

Ready for the final step? Week 3.

Week 3: Go Sugar-Free for a Week
During the third week you’ll eliminate all added sugars. This means no chocolate or cookies, no sugar in your coffee or tea, no sweetened cereals, and no packaged foods that contain added sugar. Taking a hiatus will help cure your sugar cravings, break the habit of always reaching for something sweet, and reset your palate. When the week is over, you’ll be ready to reintroduce sugar in a healthier way: as an occasional treat, rather than a constant companion, and as a choice, rather than a compulsion or craving.

Clean House
You can’t eat what’s not there. Rid your fridge, freezer, pantry, and office drawers of tempting sweets. For some, this step may be the hardest. “Sweetened foods have become a source of comfort for many people,” claims Dianne Sullivan, a psychotherapist in Hartford, Connecticut, who works with clients on food-addiction issues. “Eliminating those comfort foods can feel like losing a close friend.”

Keeping up the good habits you focused on last week will help, says Klauer. “By eating nutritionally balanced meals and healthy snacks, and not allowing yourself to become overly hungry, you may find that your cravings disappear.” Remember that healthy foods that contain natural sugars aren’t the target — they may, in fact, help stem your cravings. So go shopping for fruits such as apples, dried apricots, bananas, figs, and mangoes and vegetables such as carrots and sweet potatoes. In addition to sweet fruits and veggies, be sure to have cheeses, nuts, seeds, and plain yogurt on hand.

Quell Your Cravings
“Initially, when eliminating sugar, you may feel an intense craving for it,” Klauer says. Sugar cravings, although not true hunger, can be overpowering. They signal an imbalance and have been linked to diminished beta-endorphins and serotonin levels in the brain. Succumbing to the sugar craving will initially raise the levels of these chemicals but ultimately leave you in a sugar “deficit,” only to crave again. When you feel a craving, try Klauer’s suggestions:

1. When the craving begins, set a timer for 15 minutes. Most cravings last only eight to 14 minutes.
2. Drink a full glass of water. Thirst is often mistaken for hunger, says Klauer.
3. If the sugar craving persists, eat a protein-rich snack, such as handful of almonds or walnuts, some unsweetened yogurt, or a piece of cheese.

Certain herbs, available in tea form in natural-foods stores, can help balance blood-sugar levels and cravings, according to Gilday. Look for teas made with blueberry leaf, holy basil (also called tulsi), or nettles, says Gilday, who suggests adding a pinch of powdered cinnamon for added potency. You also can try Sweet Tamer, an herbal tea designed by Gilday (who does not profit from its sale) to balance blood sugar, improve the function of the pancreas, and support the nervous system.

Pique Your Palate
Humans recognize five distinct tastes — bitter, pungent, salty, sour, and sweet. The American diet, however, places heavy emphasis on sweet and salty foods. But it is the bitter-tasting foods, an important part of many cultures’ cuisines, that can help balance sugar cravings, suggests Dr. Andrew Weil. “If you crave sweet,” he says, “add arugula, radicchio, endive, or chicory to your diet.”

Other sources of bitter include broccoli rabe, collard greens, kale, and mustard greens. Bitter foods might taste unfamiliar to you at first, but they can help bring your tastes back into balance. Once that happens, the flavors of natural sugars, such as those found in apples, carrots, and even milk, may become much more pronounced.

Avoid The Artificial
Artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose are best avoided this week. Don’t add them to your coffee or tea, and check labels on “sugar-free” foods.

Although they do not have the same effects as sugar on the body, artificial sweeteners swing the palate in the direction of sweet and stimulate parts of the body’s sugar response. “They stimulate the cycles of sugar cravings without giving the body calories,” explains Klauer.

Sleep — And Rest
Preliminary studies have suggested that chronic lack of sleep can lead to a hunger for sugary foods. “Resting replenishes the adrenal glands, which grow fatigued in a culture of high sugar, over-stimulation, and overdoing,” adds Gilday. When you’re tired, she says, avoid “pushing through” with the help of sugar and caffeine. Instead, honor your body’s need to rest, be it with a nap, meditation, or a walk. After three weeks, you can slowly reintroduce added sugar in a healthy way. Stay conscious of its presence, keep reading labels, and celebrate sweetness sparingly. “Instead of eating large quantities of processed sugar,” suggests Klauer, “savor a small piece of flavonoid-rich dark chocolate or a warm cup of cocoa.”

You won’t see results overnight. But over time, you’ll make a profound nutritional shift, says Dr. Nancy Appleton, author of “Lick the Sugar Habit.” “Little by little, your cravings will diminish, and reducing sugar will get easier and easier.” We’ve built our sugar habit over many years. One gram at a time, we can help turn this habit back in the direction of natural sweetness. Success, in the end, lies in a bigger vision. “Reducing your sugar intake is not a revolutionary process,” says Appleton. “It’s an evolutionary one.”

Learn to tell the good sugars from the bad.

Do You Know?

-About 46 percent of Americans’ added sugar intake comes from beverages.

-Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup rose 1,000 percent from 1970 to 1990. Americans consume an average of 12.5 teaspoons daily.

-To burn off the average number of sugar-related calories consumed in a month, you’d have to walk 52 miles.

-A can of cola contains about 10 teaspoons of sugar. A bottle of sweetened iced tea may have up to 8 teaspoons.

-According to the USDA, we should consume no more than 10 teaspoons of added sugar daily. The average American consumes 20 teaspoons daily.

Sugar Glossary

Are All Added Sugars The Same?
Some would argue that the body cannot distinguish between a refined and an unrefined sugar. Others claim important nutrients, necessary for the digestion of the sugar, are lost in the refining process. Either way, a glut of any kind of sugar can cause health complications, so use all sweeteners sparingly. Sugar alcohols, or polyols, occur naturally in plants and are added to foods for sweetness. Compared with sugar, they’re less caloric and their effect on blood sugar is less dramatic; they can, however, cause stomach upset.

More-Refined Sugars
Brown sugar, confectioners’ sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, crystalline fructose, dextrose, glucose, granulated (table) sugar, high fructose corn syrup, invert sugar, maltodextrin, maltose, malt syrup, polydextrose, sucrose, syrup.

Less-Refined Sugars
Agave nectar (sweet cactus nectar), amasake, barley malt, blackstrap molasses, brown-rice syrup, cane juice, date sugar, demerara, fructose, fruit-juice concentrate, honey, lactose, maple syrup, muscovado, raw sugar, sucanat, turbinado sugar.

Sugar Alcohols
Erythritol, hydrogenated starch hydrolysates (HSH), isomalt, lactitol, maltitol, mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol.

From Whole Living Body & Soul
Link: http://bit.ly/JXLyTS
 
 

Sugar: the public health crisis that won’t go away

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Evidence is mounting on the dangers of sugar consumption, linking the sweet stuff beyond obesity to heart disease and cancer. The catch: Our fate can be prevented if we seriously cut back on sugar. Is America headed toward a great political sugar debate?

Should government reduce sugar consumption?

Eliminating sugar from the typical American diet—or even a healthier diet—is shaping up to be the next big political battle. Remember when the government attempted to reduce fat in the 1970s? The result: heart disease and obesity rates skyrocketing, because when the fat was removed, sugar and HFCS was added back in for flavor. Sugar consumption has actually declined more than 70 percent since 1970—but HFCS has more than made up the difference because it is cheaper to produce.

Some sort of sugar is now found in everything from breads to sauces and yogurt to peanut butter. Americans consume 133 pounds of sugar per person per year. That’s one-third of a pound every day, according to 60 Minutes.

Under the umbrella that researchers have opened, even healthier processed food offerings that have organic cane sugar or alternative, caloric sweeteners are still sugar sources—and because “sugar is sugar” say researchers, none is better for you than another.

The Sugar Association’s take

Also featured in the 60 Minutes segment was the Sugar Association, which cautioned that eliminating sugar wrongly vilifies one food, and that we should instead work toward a long-term solution of moderation and exercise.

In a response to the program’s airing, the Sugar Association wrote: “We are extremely disappointed that 60 Minutes missed a teachable moment to provide a balanced segment and help inform its viewers and American consumers about the role all-natural sugar plays in healthy diets… 60 Minutes overshadowed the fact that total caloric intake remains the fundamental cause of a myriad of illnesses facing Americans.”

Interestingly, in her five-year study highlighted on 60 Minutes, molecular biologist Kimber Stanhope found that “a calorie is not a calorie anymore.” In her study, young, healthy people were observed in a hospital for weeks at a time and fed controlled meals to determine the effect of sugar on the body. Those subjects who were given too much fructose converted some of it to fat, which then became small-dense LDL, the bad cholesterol associated with heart attacks.

The Sugar Association went on to say that: “The assertion that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and all-natural sugar are the same and treated by our bodies the same is inaccurate,” but did not give evidence to back up this statement. Even nutritionist and food policy advocate Marion Nestle, who doesn’t want to see more HFCS sold, has said that there is no meaningful biochemical difference between the two.

Regardless of the HFCS vs. sugar debate, one thing is clear: the sweet stuff is harmful to our health. Are we headed toward another great political battle or will the issue die, only to resurface in another year? For all the emphasis and vilification placed on meat consumption, it’s scary to think that sugar could be just as bad for our health as a cheeseburger.

Should government step in and mandate decreased sugar content in our food? 

 

Caren Baginski, newhope360
Link: http://bit.ly/Hv78sI

9 Sneaky Sources of Sugar

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Mens Health Magazine, Eat This, Not That! – Dave Zinczenko

 

9 Sneaky Sources of Sugar

Who’s the scariest supervillain of all time? Darth Vader? The Joker? Bruce Jenner’s plastic surgeon? All pretty nasty, it’s true. But let me nominate an evil force with greater powers. A villain who can be both solid and liquid, who can be as fine as dust or as hard as rock, and who lives inside of almost everything you eat. I’m talking, of course, about sugar.

I’ve yet to meet a person who doesn’t occasionally crave something sweet—ice cream, cookies, candy. We think to ourselves: “One brownie won’t kill us. It’s harmless.” And that’s true—one brownie is harmless. But it accounts for only a fraction of the sugar you’ll eat in a day.

According to the American Heart Association, Americans down about 22 teaspoons of the sweet stuff every day. (Imagine choking that down all at one time.) And most of that comes from less-than-obvious sources. Manufacturers today put sugar in everything from the bread in your pantry to the turkey on your table. That makes sweet ol’ sugar the ultimate supervillain—or at the very least a driving force behind heart disease and diabetes.

So let’s put this into perspective. If you’re currently taking in more than 120,000 sugar calories each year—as is the average American—then you’re adding 35 pounds of sugar-induced flab to your body annually. But here’s the good news: Every dark thriller has a path to salvation. To help you find the way, I’ve identified the most nefarious sources of sugar currently crouching in the dark shadows of your diet. Start dodging these villains today and you’ll earn a body worthy of a sequel.

 

 

9. #9: Asian Sauces:

Asian sauces—or at least American versions of Asian sauces—are notorious sources of hidden sugars. The viscous liquids that give us sesame chicken, sweet and sour pork, and beef teriyaki aren’t all that dissimilar from pancake syrup. Check the nutrition label for ingredients like corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup, and watch out for anything that ends in “-ose” (dextrose, maltose). These are all forms of sugar. Then be prepared to do some math—most bottled sauces list nutrition information for impractically small serving sizes. Who uses only 1 tablespoon of sauce?

EAT THIS!

La Choy Stir-Fry Teriyaki Sauce & Marinade (1 Tbsp)

10 calories, 0 g fat, 1 g sugars

 

 

8. #8: Fruit Spreads:

Jams, jellies, and preserves seem like healthy breakfast alternatives to butter and cream cheese—and they are if they contain only fruit. But many fruity toppings house a shocking amount of added sugar. Smucker’s, for instance, packs three different sweeteners into its classic Strawberry jam. Why three? Because if the company used only one, it would have to list “sugar” as the first item on the ingredient statement. By spreading the impact over three sweeteners, it can push fruit to the top of the ingredient list and hide the sweeteners below. It’s a common trick used by food processors to make their products look healthier than they are. Just remember that fruit is its own natural sweetener. Opt for an unadulterated version like Polaner’s All Fruit spreads, which—true to name—contain nothing more than fruit and fruit juice.

EAT THIS!

Polaner All Fruit with Fiber, Strawberry (1 Tbsp)

35 calories, 0 g fat, 6 g sugars

 

 

7. #7: Salad Dressing:

You’ve likely heard that fat-heavy dressings like ranch and blue cheese can convert a salad from fresh to fattening, but you may not be aware of the other salad saboteur lurking in your pantry. When the so-called “light” dressings take out fat, they often add sugar in its place. Take Ken’s Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette, pictured here. It contains as much sugar in each serving as some ice creams do in each scoop. And what’s worse, it’s laced with food starch. Although technically not sugar, it reacts in your body in almost exactly the same way. That means that in addition to the 12 grams of sugar on the label, you’re also taking in a heavy dose of blood-sugar-spiking starch. Let’s call this dressing what it really is: salad frosting.

EAT THIS!

Kraft Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan (2 Tbsp)

40 calories, 2 g fat (0 g saturated), 3 g sugars

 

 

6. #6: Spaghetti Sauce:

There’s no need to add sugar to tomato sauce because tomatoes are naturally sweet. So why do processors insist? Because instead of using fresh olive oil and vegetables, they’re often making their sauces from cheaper vegetable oils, dehydrated veggies, and other subpar ingredients. Sugar is a quick fix: It makes everything taste like candy! To that point, Francesco Rinaldi lists sugar as the second ingredient in this sauce, which brings the total impact to nearly 3 teaspoons of sugar in each serving. Your best bet? Go with a no-sugar-added option like Ragu’s Tomato Basil. It contains just tomatoes, onions, and spices. And be sure to also look out for the sugar count of barbecue sauces—another tomato-based sauce notorious for sneaky sweeteners.

EAT THIS!

Ragu Light No Sugar Added Tomato Basil (1/2 cup)

50 calories, 0 g fat, 8 g sugars

 

 

5. #5: Oatmeal:

Oats have been linked to heart health, weight loss, and cancer prevention, so it’s natural to assume that oatmeal is always a nutritious breakfast choice. But many food producers spoil the whole-grain goodness by flavoring their oats with artificial ingredients and loads of sugar. Quaker’s Cinnamon Roll Oatmeal Express, for example, takes its name very seriously—it contains as much sugar as two Pillsbury cinnamon rolls! A touch of sugar is one thing, but unless you want to eat dessert for breakfast, go with a lower-sugar option. Or better yet, make your oatmeal from scratch so you can control the sugar load. (Tip: Berries are the perfect way to sweeten naturally.)

EAT THIS!

Quaker Lower Sugar Instant Oatmeal Maple & Brown Sugar

120 calories, 2 g fat (0 g saturated) , 4 g sugars   

 

 

4. #4: “Wheat” Bread:

Studies have shown that whole grains improve your heart health, keep you full, and help you lose weight, but not all bread products labeled “wheat” are true whole grains. Restaurants and supermarket aisles are rife with whole-wheat imposters containing enriched flours and sugars intended to improve the taste of wheat products. So even though you don’t typically file bread under the “sweets” category, your daily sandwich could be loaded with refined carbs and sugars. The best example of the whole-wheat bait-and-switch is the “Honey Wheat” bread Arby’s uses on its Market Fresh sandwiches. First, it’s not whole wheat (enriched flour is the first ingredient). And second, there are 15 grams (!) of sugar in every two slices. That’s more sugar than you’ll find in a Hostess Ho Ho!

EAT THIS!

Arby’s Cravin’ Chicken Sandwich (Roast)

370 calories, 12 g fat (2 g saturated), 9 g sugars

 

 

3. #3: Yogurt:

Yogurt is low in calories and high in protein, which is why a recent Harvard study found that regularly consuming the stuff helps you lose weight. The problem? Many producers pump their “fruit flavored” yogurts with sugar. Case in point: The cups in Yoplait’s Original 99% Fat Free line pack as much sugar as a bag of peanut M&M’s. Unless yogurt is your weekly diet splurge, go with a less dessert-y option like Dannon Light & Fit, or opt for plain yogurt and add your own healthy toppings like fresh fruit and nuts.

EAT THIS!

Dannon Light & Fit Peach (6 oz, 1 container)

80 calories, 0 g fat, 11 g sugars

 

 

2. #2: Frozen Dinners:

The idea of a frozen meal packed in a nuke-able box probably doesn’t get your taste buds giddy with anticipation. Food manufacturers are aware of this fact, so they go heavy on the sugar and/or salt. Some of the worst offenders? Low-cal or otherwise “light” entrées. When food companies remove fat or carbs from their items, they usually replace those calories with excessive doses of sugar or sodium. Take Lean Cuisine’s Roasted Turkey Breast entrée, for example. Chances are you don’t think of turkey as dessert, but with 7 teaspoons of sugar, that’s exactly what you’re getting if you pop one of these babies in the microwave. Again, it’s all in the nutrition label. Don’t just focus on fat and calories; make sure to look out for sneaky sugars and sodium as well.

EAT THIS!

Smart Ones Bistro Selections Slow Roasted Turkey Breast (1 entrée)

200 calories, 7 g fat (2 g saturated), Sugars <1 g

 

 

1. #1: Bottled Tea:

In recent years, tea has received a lot of good press for its impressive antioxidant properties, and beverage companies have taken advantage by flooding the market with options. But the taste of plain herbal tea doesn’t draw in the crowds, so many drink purveyors pump their teas with high-fructose corn syrup and other cheap sweeteners to boost flavor. Before you buy a bottle, flip it over and read the nutrition label. If you’re looking at Arizona’s Green Tea, you’ll notice that it has more sugar than a Snicker’s bar.

DRINK THIS!

Honest Tea Jasmine Green Energy Tea (16 oz. bottle)

34 calories, 0 g fat, 10 g sugars


Link: http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slideshow/9-sneaky-sources-sugar

Are Our Kids’ Diets Too Sweet?

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Joanna Dolgoff, M.D., Huffington Post

It’s hard to find a child who doesn’t love sugary foods, and chances are that the processed or packaged food your child eats has some amount of added sugar. New research suggests that this trend has spiraled out of control and is causing serious health consequences for families.

Foods that are high in added sugar (soda, cookies, cake, candy, frozen desserts and some fruit drinks) tend to also be high in calories and low in other valuable nutrients. As a result, a high-sugar diet is often linked with obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

A recent American Heart Association (AHA) scientific statement containing specific guidelines on limiting sugar intake has sparked conversation about just how much sugar people should consume and how to make cutting back less bothersome.

How Much Sugar Should You and Your Kids Consume?

The guidelines, published in the August 2009 issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, state that most women should consume no more than 100 calories, and men no more than 150 calories, of added sugar. These numbers average out to about 6-9 teaspoons, or 25 to 37.5 grams, of sugar a day.

Preschoolers with a daily caloric intake of 1,200 to 1,400 calories shouldn’t consume any more than 170 calories, or about 4 teaspoons, of added sugar a day. Children ages 4-8 with a daily caloric intake of 1,600 calories should consume no more than 130 calories, or about 3 teaspoons a day. As your child grows into his pre-teen and teen years and his caloric range increases to 1,800 to 2,000 a day, the maximum amount of added sugar included in his daily diet should be 5 to 8 teaspoons.

A study conducted by the AHA found children as young as 1-3 years already bypass the daily recommendations and typically consume around 12 teaspoons of sugar a day. By the time a child is 4-8 years old, his sugar consumption skyrockets to an average of 21 teaspoons a day. The same study found 14-18 year old children intake the most sugar on a daily basis, averaging about 34.3 teaspoons. That is about four times the recommended amount!

For this reason, it is extremely important to be able to recognize sources of added sugar in your diet, understand why consuming extra sugar can be harmful to health, and how best to limit added sugars.

Beware of Hidden Added Sugars

Added sugars are sugars and syrups included in foods during processing or preparation, as well as sugars and syrups that consumers add themselves. According to the AHA statement, a healthy and well-balanced diet contains the naturally occurring sugars present in fruits, vegetables, dairy products and many grains. Naturally occurring sugars supply healthy nutrients while still fulfilling people’s cravings for sweets.

The best way to determine whether a food contains added sugar is to read the ingredient list. Although added sugars may appear in a variety of ways, in terms of calorie content, all added sugars are essentially the same. The names for added sugars used on food labels include those listed below:

• 
Brown sugar
• Corn sweetener
• Corn syrup
• Dextrose
• Fructose
• Fruit juice concentrates
• Glucose
• High-fructose corn syrup
• Honey
• Invert sugar
• Lactose
• Malt syrup
• Maltose
• Molasses
• Sucrose

As of now, sugar grams listed on the Nutrition Facts panel on food labels don’t distinguish naturally occurring sugars from added sugar so it is important to scour the ingredients list for hidden sources of sugar.

The main sources of added sugars in the Western diet include soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages such as fruit juices and sports drinks. In fact, according to the AHA statement, between 1970 and 2000, the per-person daily consumption of caloric soft drinks increased by a whopping 70 percent! While you may know that such foods are sugar sweetened without reading labels, there are other items that may not be so obvious. Examples include ketchup, barbeque sauce, baked beans — and even some salad dressings.

The Problem With Sugar Overload


High intakes of added sugar have been linked to overweight and obesity, a lower intake of essential nutrients, increased triglyceride levels, hypertension and inflammation. All of these are risk factors for cardiovascular disease, which is what the AHA scientific statement addresses on specifically. In addition, too much added sugar in the diet can also “take up space,” leaving little room for healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy foods and lean sources of protein.

Defeat the Sweets

Start out small, and note that beverages are often a great starting point for change. Beverages are especially problematic because research shows that liquid calories are not as satiating as calories consumed through solid food. As a result, people don’t compensate for liquid calories in the same way they do calories from solid food. Quench your thirst with these healthier alternatives:

• Plain or carbonated water are the best choices.
• Add a splash of your favorite fruit juice to a glass of sparkling water!

Although there’s no added sugar in 100 percent fruit juice, the calories from the natural sugars found in fruit juice can add up. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends limiting juice intake to 4-6 ounces (118-177 milliliters) for kids under 7 years old, and no more than 8-12 ounces (237-355 milliliters) of juice for older kids and teens.

Candy is another sweet treat that many may find difficult to relinquish. Try substituting candy with these healthier alternatives:

• Mixed nuts, dried fruit (made without added sugar), and low-sugar cereals for candy
• One square of 70 percent dark chocolate
• Apple slices with 2 tablespoons of almond butter

Remember, enjoying a treat now and again is not a bad thing, which is exactly why two red light foods are allowed on the “Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right” meal plans. Those who allow themselves an occasional indulgence rather than trying to abstain often find success making healthy lifestyle changes. Those who attempt to deny themselves all sweets may not have as much success, especially if they previously consumed a lot of sugar. By taking small steps, you can begin to cut back on the sweet stuff and get on track to a healthier, green light, lifestyle.

Link: http://huff.to/s6Al9g

 

Grocery Shoppers More Concerned With Overall Sugar Content Than High Fructose Corn Syrup

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PR Newswire

Mintel Research Consultancy, a service that supports more than 500 of the world’s largest companies with syndicated research and custom research projects, recently conducted a survey to reveal how primary household shoppers feel about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in relation to other sugars and sweeteners. Mintel Research Consultancy found that when it comes to product ingredient labels, consumers are more concerned with fat and calorie intake than sugar or HFCS content.

“When reading ingredient labels, shoppers are more focused on fat content and calories than the amount or type of added sugar,” says Erin Murray, senior analyst, Mintel Research Consultancy. “We found that nearly four in ten label readers seek information on fat or calories, compared to just 3% who look specifically for HFCS —and 25% who seek information on sugar content.”

Mintel Research Consultancy also found that consumers are more likely to be limiting fat and calories than sugar and sweeteners. Thirty-seven percent of consumers say they have been limiting or avoiding calories in the past six months. Meanwhile, 20% have been limiting or avoiding fats and oils and 17% report cutting back on products with sugar or added sugar. In comparison, 4% are actively limiting or avoiding HFCS specifically.

“We sought to find out how cognizant consumers are of HFCS, what they’ve heard about HFCS and what efforts they’re making to reduce or limit their intake of HFCS and other sweeteners,” adds Erin Murray. “Sugar and sweeteners in general seem to be a bigger concern than HFCS.”

Link: http://prn.to/nmXmKh