From Your Health Journal…..”A great article today from Deborah Kotz of the Boston Globe about what sugar really does to your body. She starts off by discussing Coke’s message of a calorie is a calorie, no matter where it comes from. One study compared added sugar intake in sweetened beverages and other foods with weight changes and found that when study participants were advised to lower their sugar intake — without changing anything else in their diet — they lost an average of nearly two pounds over six to eight months. When they were told to increase sugar, they gained nearly two pounds. Sugar isn’t the cause of obesity; it’s a cause of obesity – along with other parts of someone’s lifestyle. In the 19th century, Americans consumed less than 30 grams of sugar per day — about 6 percent of their total calories — but by 1977, sugar consumption had increased to 75 grams per day on average. Teens now average 150 grams per day or roughly 30 percent of their total calories. Please visit the Boston Globe web site to read this important article. The link is provided below.”
From the article…..
How bad is sugar really? The Coca Cola company would have you believe in its new anti-obesity commercial that a calorie is just a calorie whether it’s from a sugar grain or sesame seed. But new research suggests otherwise.
In the study funded by the World Health Organization, New Zealand researchers analyzed 68 studies that compared added sugar intake in sweetened beverages and other foods with weight changes and found that when study participants were advised to lower their sugar intake — without changing anything else in their diet — they lost an average of nearly two pounds over six to eight months. When they were told to increase sugar, they gained nearly two pounds, according to the study which was published Tuesday in the British Medical Journal.
That’s a very small change, but it’s significant, and it makes the case for government recommendations to lower added sugar intake, wrote Dr. Walter Willet, chair of nutrition at Havard School of Public Health, and Boston Children’s Hospital pediatrician Dr. David Ludwig in an editorial that accompanied the study.
The WHO commissioned the study, in fact, to see whether they should keep their decade-old advice to eat no more than 10 percent of calories from added sugars. The U.S. government recommends that added sugars make up no more than 15 percent of calories, whereas the American Heart Association’s recommendation is no more than 5 percent.
Following the strictest 5 percent guidelines would mean that women should eat no more than 100 calories a day of added sugars (equivalent to 6 teaspoons) and that men should eat no more than 150 calories per day (equivalent to 9 teaspoons).
One serving of my favorite high-fiber cereal — which has 12 grams or 48 calories of added sugar — and one serving of my favorite Chobani Greek vanilla yogurt — which has 17 grams or 68 calories of added sugar — would put me over my daily limit. Clearly, the AHA guidelines are really, really tough to follow, which is why Willet and Ludwig recommended a 10 percent goal as a “realistic practical goal” while 5 percent would be a goal for “optimal health.”
But why all the fuss when reducing sugar-sweetened foods — and presumably replacing those calories with sugar-free foods — won’t do much to prevent excess weight gain?
“Sugar isn’t the cause of obesity; it’s a cause of obesity,” said Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist and author of the best-selling new book Fat Chance. “What makes sugar so problematic is how it’s handled by the body.”
To read the full article…..Click here