Sugar in food: Come out, come out, wherever you are!

Having been diagnosed at a young age with reactive hypoglycemia, I've long been aware of the fact that modern food products hide alarming amounts of sugar, and conceal sugar in foods you'd never think contain it.


Like in food labeled as "Sugar Free":

Or ketchup:

Britain's FSA (Food Service Authority) defines high-sugar content as being 10%. Heinz Tomato Ketchup contains 23.5%. (British info source. Percentage from Heinz U.S. website.)

The following facts are just a taste (sorry!) of what investigative reporter Michael Moss uncovered in his book Salt, Sugar, Fat, about America's food industry. (Via buzzfeed. More fun facts there!)

The American Heart Association's recommendation for women's sugar intake is just five teaspoons a day. That's half a can of Coke. Or one and a half Fig Newtons.

Another source puts it like this: The American Heart Association recommends that women eat no more than  six teaspoons of added sugars per day or nine teaspoons for men. But, one 20-ounce bottle of soda contains about 16 teaspoons of sugars from high-fructose corn syrup. In other words...

(By the way, Coca-Cola executives refer to consumers who drink more than two or three cans a day as "heavy users.")

And as I said before, sugar is hiding in unexpected places. There's as much sugar in 1/2 cup of Prego tomato sauce as there is in three Oreos.

This fact alone (reported in Moss's book) is particularly telling...

Some packaged food executives don't actually eat the products their companies make.

John Ruff from Kraft gave up sweet drinks and fatty snacks. Bob Lin from Frito-Lay avoids potato chips. Howard Moskowitz, a soft drink engineer, doesn't drink soda.

Go thou and do likewise.

Kicking the sugar habit? Here's the most important thing to know.

Sugar really can be quite addicting.  Dr Eric Stice has famously said, “Sugar activates the brain similar to the way cocaine reacts”. I think that those who call it "toxic" are going overboard, though. As Dr. David L. Katz says, "the dose makes the poison." And Americans are definitely over-dosing. On average, American adults eat about 100 pounds of sugar a year. (Source.)

(Click these links for some stunning graphics showing how much sugar and corn syrup the average American consumes in a day, week, month, year and lifetime. Care for a dip in a hot-tub full of corn syrup, anyone?)

I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia in high school, so I was trained early on to stay away from or at least go easy on sugar, but later in life, I got a little sloppy with it. Eventually, between my weight gain, migraines, and moods, I finally realized that I needed to get back to that super-cautious approach to sugar.

Here's a short video by "Mama Natural" with some tips for kicking the white stuff:

I especially want to note this point that she mentions in passing:

Eating sugar creates craving for more sugar. 

Understanding this made a big difference for me. Before I realized this, I might indulge in some sweets a few times a week because, hey, a little now and then isn't that bigga deal, right? But the sweet itself isn't the only cost: it can kick off bigger cravings one or two hours later, and depending on your vulnerability, those cravings might last for days. As I've made clear before, I do believe in the occasional indulgence for very special occasions. But when I do, I know I've got to get back on the no-sugar horse the very next day and tough out the cravings until they subside.

The great thing is, the reverse is also true. The more you stay off of sugar and other white carbs, the more your cravings will subside. The first week or two is gonna be tough, but after that it gets lots, lots easier. If you are physically addicted to sugar, you may need to do a slower withdrawal in order to manage bothersome side effects. For more info, see this article on how to get through sugar withdrawal.

So if you're trying to punt the sugar monster, hang in there! You'll be glad you did!



* Find Just Me(gan)'s blog at http://tallydogs.wordpress.com/