Hidden Sugars

We all know what foods, snacks and treats have large amounts of sugar...(the ones that generally taste really good!) When we decide to get healthier, lose weight or make sure we are not joining the growing number of Americans who have diabetes, we can easily avoid those foods.

It is important to watch for foods which appear "healthy" (like a granola bar, low fat yogurt or a few slices of bread) likely each contain 4, 5 or 6 teaspoons of sugar. But just in those three examples, which would hardly make a dent in your appetite, you would be consuming about 15 teaspoons of sugar and the day is just beginning!

The phenomenon of "hidden sugars" in so many food products is unhealthy and dangerous. It is clearly contributing to the epidemic levels of diabetes, obesity and heart disease. Now neuroscientists are finding a connection to Alzheimer's and dementia with this daily overdose of sugar.

The food industry tells us "fats" are the problem and they offer many "low fat" products as a solution. We don't realize the fat is replaced with sugar. Without fat, we don't get full as quickly and we eat more. The accumulation of so much sugar on a daily basis is far more hazardous to our bodies than fat.

Unfortunately, no rules, limits or regulation is coming. The food industry is unlikely to manage themselves with so many hungry customers.

The solution is to be informed and make informed decisions about what you feed yourself and your family. Take a few minutes to read the labels and better yet, understand the label. Realize when a low fat yogurt has 20 grams of sugar per serving, that is the same as dumping 5 teaspoons of sugar on it. Eat more produce and fresh foods. Drink more water instead of soft drinks. If you want to enjoy how great sugar tastes, do it when YOU CHOOSE to eat it and not when it is part of "hidden sugars".