Sugar is a hot topic, we all know that too much sugar is harmful for our health in many ways, but as I keep saying moderation is important. As all my friends know, I love desserts and chocolates, but I do try to only eat home made deserts and avoid any boxed desserts. The problem with many desserts, especially the processed packaged ones is that they have a lot of sugar substitutes.I am not talking about sugar free substitutes, I am talking about other names for cane or refined sugar. All these other types of sugars are still being tested on their effects on the body.
When you read the ingredients on a food label, its important to know, where the added sugar comes from. Here are some of the sneaky names sugar has:
- Common Names For Sugar
“According to the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, added sugars show up on food and drink labels under the following names: Anhydrous dextrose, brown sugar, cane crystals, cane sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, crystal dextrose, evaporated cane juice, fructose sweetener, fruit juice concentrates, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, liquid fructose, malt syrup, maple syrup, molasses, pancake syrup, raw sugar, sugar, syrup and white sugar. Other types of sugar you might commonly see on ingredient lists are fructose, lactose and maltose. Fructose is sugar derived from fruit and vegetables; lactose is milk sugar; and maltose is sugar that comes from grain.”
As you can see, sugar is hidden in many foods and reading the food ingredients is a wise thing to do if you have the time.
Some foods that I find a lot of sugar in that we don’t realize are, flavored yogurts, sugary sodas, sugary drinks and salad dressings and tomato sauce. If the drink does not say 100 percent juice, then it does have added sugar.
A few changes in my diet have helped reduce my excessive sugar consumption:
- Swap salad dressings with plain olive oil and balsamic vinegar and add some spices for a kick. The reduced fat dressings usually have the most sugar, unless they are made with sugar free substitutes.
- Swap sugary sodas and drinks with water and tea. I try to add lemon or oranges to my water and keep it in a jug in the fridge. A little bit of fruit juice to seltzer water is another idea. I also try to drink more herbal teas in the day.
- Swap flavored yogurts with low fat yogurts as a little bit of fat helps lower the sugar without affecting the taste. Or buy plain 2 percent fat yogurt and some fresh fruit or honey.
- Beware of sugar in the bread you buy. I just discovered “Bread Alone”it has only 6 ingredients and 2 grams of sugar, which comes from honey. There are many great brands available.
Its very hard to totally cut out sugar from the diet, but every small change makes a difference. Its important to start slow and make baby steps. Sugar is addictive and we need to be aware of the foods that we find it in. There is a lot of science, showing us how sugar can affect our bodies through Insulin production. Which plays a role in a lot of the major diseases.
On a positive note, if we read the Nutrition Facts Panel on the food label and see the amount of added sugar that in itself is a step in the right direction.