Carbohydrates (starch and sugar) can be as addictive as any drug, and the addiction is real!
Let’s say then, that a little sugar goes a long way. We can accomplish that by decreased exposure to that addictive agent by eating smaller portions of our favorite dessert or simply eating healthier desserts!
We also know that stress causes cravings for those feel-good foods that make you feel good like chocolate and carbohydrates. The answer is to “eat responsibly” – keeping blood sugar up with regular healthy meals and snacks, if need be. Moderate amounts of sugar eaten with meals are burned for energy just like any other carbohydrate. The key is to eat mixed meals that blunt insulin spikes and, of course, to get enough physical activity to burn off calories eaten. A colleague of mine at the university makes every Monday “Dessert Night” at his house. What a great way to teach his children that desserts and sweets are a special treat, not an everyday provision.
Real Sugar
Well, we have to talk about it – the “s” word. Sugar, as we have discussed in relation to carbohydrates, is simple – it is absorbed very fast into the blood during digestion. We don’t need to demonize it again, but we do need to know that sugar can hardly be avoided in our world. We can make a conscious effort to limit it, but it will always be there to lure us.
An average American eats between 100 and 160 pounds of sugar a year! Does that sound impossible? There are about 10 teaspoons or 40 grams of sugar in one 12-ounce soft drink. Drinking one 12 oz. soft drink a day for 365 days = 36 pounds of sugar a year. If that were all the sugar eaten in a day, we would be within the recommendations of not more that about 10% of daily calories from refined sugar. However, sugar intake doesn’t stop there. Most Americans eat and drink at least twice that much a day. Almost every processed food contains sugar in some form. It’s in everything- chicken soup, pickles, pork and beans, peanut butter, bread, macaroni and cheese, mustard, relish, yogurt, canned fruit and vegetables, salad dressings and more. Ketchup is one-third sugar, for heaven’s sake!
So reducing sugar from everyday life is not easy. One of the best ways to limit the sweet life is not to drink it! Also, as we have said before, whole natural foods are best. When we purchase processed foods – we must read the labels. Honey, molasses, maple syrup, fruit juices, raw sugar, cane syrup, brown sugar, maple sugar, natural fruit preserves, and stevia are all natural sweeteners that can be used in moderation. We will never get away from refined sugar, but we can monitor it. And we especially need to stay away from HFCS – remember that bad stuff?
Sugar Substitutes
The FDA has approved these five sugar substitutes:
- Saccharine (Sweet and Low)
- Acesulfame-K (Sunett)
- Neotame
- Sucralose (Splenda)
- Aspartame (NutraSweet or Equal) used in Crystal Lite, diet sodas, chewing gum and toothpaste.
Although the FDA says that they are all safe, they are not natural. Naotame is the newest and sweetest of the approved sugar substitutes. It is approximately 7,000 times sweeter than sugar, so a very small amount is used to sweeten products. Splenda is currently one of the most advertised sugar substitutes; one advantage for this substitute is the ability to cook with Splenda. Aspartame seems to create the most problems with side effects. There is a warning on the label for anyone who has an inborn error of metabolism called phenylketonuria (PKU); these people should not eat aspartame. Long-term effects of using aspartame, especially for pregnant women and children, are yet to be determined. These artificial sweeteners are found in thousands of products, so read labels.
Sugar Alcohols
Sugar alcohols are ingredients used as sweeteners and bulking agents. They occur naturally in foods and come from plant products, such as fruits and berries. As a sugar substitute, they provide fewer calories (about a half to one-third fewer calories) than regular sugar. This is because they are converted to glucose more slowly, require little or no insulin to be metabolized, and don’t cause sudden increases in blood sugar. This makes them popular among individuals with diabetes. Their use is becoming more common. Sugar alcohols like mannitol, sorbitol, and xylitol do not cause tooth decay like sugar does. Therefore, many sugar-free gums are made with sugar alcohols. Sugar alcohols also add texture to foods, retain moisture better and prevent foods from browning when they are heated.
Stevia
As far as natural non-caloric sweeteners go, stevia is the only product available. However, in the United States, the FDA calls it a dietary supplement and not a sweetener. Stevia is a non-caloric herb native to Paraguay that has been used for centuries in South America and for more than 25 years in Japan as a sweetener and flavor enhancer. Even though you won’t find it in supermarkets, most health food stores in the US carry it.
This herbal substance has been used safely for hundreds of years, is in almost half of all sweetened foods consumed in Japan, has been cultivated and studied extensively around the world with no reports of any ill side effects, and has the ability to prevent tooth decay, inhibit the growth of certain bacteria, balance blood sugar levels, heal wounds, and actually reduce the craving for sweets, not increase it!
The bottom line on sugar and sugar substitutes is this: they are whole natural foods. In the Big Picture, a little refined sugar (16 calories per teaspoon) is a much lesser evil that a lot of artificial sugar. Some evidence that artificial sweeteners increase the craving for more sweets, just like sugar does.
As a helpful resource, I have lots of articles on healthy ingredients and recipes that you can implement into your daily life.
If you’d like to dig deeper into my journey of discovering God’s plan for health and wellness, check out my book, Made For Paradise: God’s Original Plan for Healthy Eating, Physical Activity, and Rest.
