Sugar… and Heart Disease?

Posted by admin on Apr 1, 2011 in Blog | 229 comments

Sugar is a serious, and sticky issue. One 350ml can of soda contains ten teaspoons of sugar. Since 1977, sugared soft drink consumption more than doubled. No wonder we are on the brink of a Diabetes epidemic!

Sugar comes in many disguises, in far too many foods. Even the buns at McDonald’s are high in sugar. Sugar, in most forms, is an empty calorie – no nutritional value, whatsoever. However, it’s so cheap that most food manufacturers use it as a filler, allowing them to charge more and so make more profit. Plus, consumers seem to like it!

“The American Heart Association (AHA) has recommended that Americans drastically cut back on added sugar, to help slow the obesity and heart disease epidemics. The AHA’s suggested added sugar threshold is no more than 100 calories per day (about 6 teaspoons or 24 grams of sugar) for most women and no more than 150 calories per day (about 9 teaspoons or 36 grams of sugar) for most men. But remember—your body doesn’t need to get its carbohydrate from added sugar. A good rule of thumb is to skip products that have added sugar at or near the top of the list—or have several sources of added sugar sprinkled throughout the list.” – Harvard School of Public Health.

You need to watch your sugar intake. If you are overweight, and, as I explain in my upcoming book, possibly in danger of Type 2 Diabetes, you must avoid sugars like the plague. It’s not to say that sugar “causes” Diabetes, but it can be a contributing factor in that it can exacerbate the problem. Your only choice is to read labels, and choose sugar-free options. It’s true; there has been controversy about sugar substitutes. The jury is still out on that for the most part, but at this point in time, sugar substitutes are better for you than the heavily processed sugars that are in almost anything you buy these days. Even so-called “diet” foods can be high in sugar. Many low-fat entrées actually contain more sugar. You can’t avoid sugar, but you must cut down as much as possible. The only way to really do that is to learn how to read a nutritional label. How do you do that? My book does outline this, but so does the FDA and really the starting point is, as is often the case…JUST DO IT. Turn over the box, package or bag and read. What you do next is up to you.