Oh Sugar, Sugar, You Are My Candy Girl
source: http://www.lyricsondemand.com/
Before reading this I highly encourage you to listen to The Archies, Sugar Sugar. Great song that always puts me in a great mood. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MiQzAo6Cp8
While working with many various weight loss challenges there has been much discussion about “sugar limits” posed by various weight management websites. These sites are very effective for weight management and I encourage you to continue to use them. But lets first take a minute to gain a better understanding of “sugar.”
It is naturally occurring in foods we eat and can also be added during processing and production. It makes fruit sweet, aids in moisture retention for baked goods, acts as a preservative in jellies, and makes decadent, creamy desserts among other things. But most importantly, without it we may not be here today. Simple, single ringed sugars (glucose, fructose, galactose) are the building blocks for all carbohydrates which are our primary fuel source. Think of sugar and carbohydrates like Legos. It takes a bunch of simple blocks to make complex structures. The more pieces you have the more complex your Lego model can become. Despite the importance to our survival sugar is blamed for increases in obesity rates, misbehaving children, dental carries, diabetes, etc. The important thing to understand is that the pros and cons to sugar have more to do with the amount of sugar being consumed and from what foods.
The sugar limits imposed by weight management sites are an attempt to limit the amounts of sugar laden, nutrient inferior foods and promote portion control. Sugar from fruit is fine, sugar from a sleeve of Oreos is not as fine. Sorry, I wish the sleeve of Oreos were ok too. If you are eating a balanced diet and exceed a sugar restriction because you had and extra apple or yogurt I am not concerned. A healthy diet is all about balancing portions of the food groups. Foods with excessively added sugar (danish pastry, soda, candy) are not really in a food group. They should be eaten in even more moderation. Again I apologize, but, to help curb the sweet tooth try this recipe for Sweet Tooth Popcorn. The problem with sugar spawns from excessive consumption of sugar added foods. If you are concerned with limiting sugar added foods, the best piece of advice I can give you is to avoid packaged foods or read the ingredient lists and look for these words.
Think of food as Legos again. The foods we eat are like a lego sets. The pieces of legos in each set represent nutrients. (carb, fat, protein, vitamins, minerals, water.) The sets are made of many different pieces just like food is made of many different of nutrients. If we buy a Lego set with a variety of pieces we can make many different models with the same lego set. But if you choose a lego set that is very simple and has few different pieces you will only be able to make only a few simple models. So if you eat foods that are mostly made of simple sugars it is like having a simple Lego set. For example, candy is a simple Lego set and a fruit is a complex Lego set. Three pieces of small Tootsie Roll have almost as much sugar as a small apple. The apple still has sugar, but it also has many more vitamins and minerals than the Tootsie Roll. The apple is a better choice because it has nutrients that the Tootsie Rolls do not have.
To further exemplify the sugar content of a well balanced and portioned diet without I attached my diet from Sunday. This diet has 163 grams of sugar. It is a balanced, well portioned, 2800-3000 calorie diet. Beneath the diet recall you will also see how the diet fits the Choose My Plate recommendations that we discussed at the Kick Off event.
*(Eggs, milk, banana, and toast for breakfast, chicken sandwich with vegetables and an orange for lunch, Indian shrimp stir fry with salad and milk for dinner, and Triscuits, pretzel, granola bar, raisins, and milk for snacks.
U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 . Chapter 7: Carbohydrates. Accessed on January 20, 2013.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 2008. A Food Labeling Guide: Chapter IV. Ingredient Lists. Accessed January 20, 2013.