What if foods high in sugar came with a WARNING: consumption may contribute to obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and stroke? What if 75% of those life-threatening diseases were preventable with a proper diet and regular exercise? Would sensible people still suck down several sodas a day, each containing 16 teaspoons of sugar? Would conscientious parents feed their children bowls of Honey Smacks cereal when it’s 55% sugar? Would anyone mindlessly plow through a movie theater size bag of Twizzlers when every four pieces contain 19 grams of sugar? Unfortunately, when it comes to sugar, there are no easy answers.
You may blame your sugary indulgences on an inherent sweet tooth, hormones, or lack of willpower, but you can also blame evolution. We crave sugary foods because the sweetness is nature’s way of letting us know what is safe to eat. In caveman days, the inherent preference for sweetness was crucial to selecting edible berries, grains, and roots. Because we are hard-wired for survival, even newborn infants instinctively prefer the sweeter beverage. Today we have entire shopping isles devoted to sweets, and everyday foods contain added sugars. Our diets border on toxic since the average person consumes 130 lbs. of sugar per year or about 1/3 of a pound of sugar every day.
We no longer just prefer sugar; we are addicted to it. The research supports that sugar activates our brain similarly to cocaine. When you eat sugar, dopamine is released, which stimulates the reward center of the brain. Since a bit of sugar feels good, it follows that more feels better. Because our blood sugar rises and crashes after large amounts of sugar, eating more sugar can feel like the only solution. Like drug addiction, we may develop a tolerance for sweetness, and therefore we need more sugar for the same satisfaction. For example, consider the evolution of the Oreo cookie. A few Oreos with a glass of milk, and we thought life couldn’t get any better. Nabisco saw how happy we were and decided to please us by double stuffing the sugary icing in the middle. When that was no longer enough, the whole cookie was dunked in chocolate and later double dipped.
Snack food manufacturers realized there was also a market for a “healthier cookie.” Because the current trend focused on lowering the fat in our diet, we see new marketing and various reduced-fat snack options. Since reducing the added fat can significantly lessen the desired flavor, manufacturers were thoughtful enough to compensate by adding more sugar. Unfortunately, the advertising on the labels of these “healthy” options can be very misleading.
So here we are, naturally drawn to sugar, addicted to sugar, surrounded by sugar, and physically harmed from too much sugar. The good news is that sugar, in moderate amounts, does not have to be the enemy. The conservative recommendation is for men to consume less than 36 grams (9 t.) of added sugar a day and women less than 24 grams (6 t.) Although staying strictly within those guidelines rules out a daily soda, it does allow for the occasional sweet treat. Remember that sugar has no nutritional value, and any excess calories you do not utilize for fuel store as fat.
The challenge is to identify the foods that contribute too much sugar to your diet and reduce the amount you consume or substitute them for healthier choices. For example, if you are attached to a high sugar cereal, try mixing it with a lower sugar option. Read labels in the grocery store and choose items either without added sugar or sugar listed lower down on the ingredients list. Try to limit sweets to once a day and avoid using sugary foods as a reward. As always, you want the bulk of your diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grain, legumes, low-fat dairy, and lean protein.
You may notice that you will begin to crave it less after you start to reduce the sugar in your diet. We may be programmed to prefer sugar, but we were also born with the ability to make healthy decisions for ourselves and our families.
Melissa Wolfe 