Get out of the way trans fat, sugar is in the hot seat now. This week the American Heart Association (AHA) released new guidelines for the amount of sugar to consume…to be accurate and specific, the amount of added sugars to consume versus naturally occurring sugar as found in whole foods such as fruit. What are ‘added sugars’? Think of added sugars as the sugars and syrups added to foods during processing or added by you at the table. Examples of added sugars include sugar, honey, molasses, brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup, agave syrup…you get the idea.
Why all the commotion about added sugars? The data is just too clear to ignore any longer. A diet with a hefty intake of added sugars is tied to the rise in weight gain and obesity in the US. According to the American Heart Association, added sugars in large amounts are also associated with increased risks for high blood pressure, high triglyceride levels, and inflammation. Remember, we talked before about inflammation in the body, the link to heart disease and the potential role of an anti-inflammation diet. You can find the podcast on the anti-inflammation diet in the Nutrition & Health Center podcast archives at WDBO.com or on my site at susanmitchell.org.
Another reason that added sugars can be a big concern is that the calories they provide to the body are referred to as ‘empty calories’? What do think empty calories are? You got it….calories with zero, zip nutrition punch to your body. These calories aren’t providing you with any health benefit…no vitamins and minerals or naturally occurring phytonutrients found in real food…just calories that can easily end up on your belly or backside when consumed in large quantities. Let me stop here a second…the discouraging part for most of us is the term ‘large quantities’. The reality is that it doesn’t take a lot of extra…discretionary calories if you will…to put on the pounds.
By the way, do you know what the number one source of added sugars in the US is? Candy? Ice cream? It is soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages.
Ok, the new recommendations from the AHA suggest:
Most women should consume no more than 100 calories (about 25 grams) of added sugars per day.
Most men should consume no more than 150 calories (about 37.5 grams) each day.
That’s about six teaspoons of added sugar a day for women and nine teaspoons for men.
Here’s the deal. The data shows that Americans are swallowing over 22 teaspoons of added sugars each day. How many grams is that equivalent to since the food labels have sugars listed in grams? Here’s your nutrition 101 lesson for the day: the conversion of sugar grams on a food label to teaspoons. Let’s say your favorite can of root beer contains 120 calories per cup and 31 grams of sugar according to the Nutrition Facts label. One teaspoon of added sugar is roughly 4 grams so if our soda contains 31 grams of added sugars…that almost 8 teaspoons of added sugars….well on the way to that 22 teaspoons that most Americans consume each day.
Let’s go back to the AHA recommendations and make sense of them. The suggestion is for women to limit added sugars to 25 grams per day. Ok, put your math to work. Remember 1 teaspoon is 4 grams and you have 25 grams as the suggested intake for the day…or about 6 teaspoons per day. For the guys, your suggested intake is 37.5 grams of added sugars per day which would be about 9 teaspoons…right…1 teaspoon is 4 grams multiplied by 9 teaspoons is equal to 36 grams…so close to the 37.5 gram suggestion.
In case you are wondering where the 100 calories of added sugars for women and 150 calories for men came from, let me explain. We’ve talked about how to convert grams to teaspoons. Well converting grams to calories is easy too. Four is the operative number here again. There are 4 calories per gram of added sugars so if the suggestion for women is 6 teaspoons or about 25 grams…at 4 calories per gram…that’s the 100 calories. Nine teaspoons or about 37.5 grams of added sugars for men is 150 calories. Now you’re an expert and can convert grams to teaspoons on a food label!
Be a sleuth. Notice what foods your added sugars are coming from. Notice how much you are consuming and what part in your diet added sugars are playing. If your intake is high, think about where you might cut back on these empty calories a bit.
For those of you who are our fans on Facebook, you know that I asked you for nutrition topics you want to hear about. Thank you for your responses. Grant S. said he wanted to know more about bleached flour. I’m glad you asked Grant. When I was grocery shopping last week, I read the ingredients on a loaf of bread that said whole grain four and enriched unbleached wheat flour followed by numerous other ingredients. I thought to myself, whole grain flour? Which whole grain? Is it whole wheat? Whole rye? Corn? A mixture? I thought this language was confusing. What about enriched unbleached wheat flour? Do you know what this is? Whether you’re buying bread, bakery items or choosing flour for your kitchen there’s a lot to know.
Let’s start with the term whole grain and understand what it means. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) definition of “whole grain” as it relates to food items includes “cereal grains that consist of the intact and unrefined, ground, cracked or flaked fruit of the grains whose principal components — the starchy endosperm, germ and bran — are present in the same relative proportions as they exist in the intact grain.” Examples include: barley, buckwheat, bulgur, corn, brown rice, rye, oats, whole wheat and wild rice. The Whole Grains Council has their definition: “Whole grain” means that all the parts of the grain are kept in the product (the outer bran layer, the healthy nutritious germ and the starchy endosperm).
Whole grains help reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes and help with weight control because you feel more full after eating them. Here are the tips to help you make smart choices:
White flour has most or all of the germ and bran removed during processing (refining). By the way, did you know that the main reason white bread has a longer shelf life is that the germ has been removed? Besides vitamins and minerals, the germ contains fat that speeds up rancidity or causes the bread to go bad more quickly.
The term ‘enriched flour’ is not the same as whole grain flour. So bread with enriched wheat flour is not equal to bread made from whole wheat flour. Here’s why. During processing when the bran, germ and endosperm are removed, so are most of the vitamins and minerals, good fat and phytochemicals. During the enrichment process, only a few vitamins and one mineral are added back to the now refined white flour: specifically thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid and iron.
Wheat bread or wheat flour is not equivalent to whole wheat bread or whole wheat flour. When you look at the ingredient label, you want to see the word ‘whole’ or ’100% whole’…whole wheat, whole corn, and whole rye. Whole grain is not as clear…doesn’t tell you which whole grains. The words ‘wheat flour’ mean refined whole wheat flour or ‘white flour’. When you see whole wheat flour followed by wheat flour on the label, the bakery used a blend of whole wheat and refined wheat or white flour.
Unbleached flour has a more natural taste because it has not been processed with the chemicals used to bleach flour. Bleaching flour has been used for two reasons, cosmetic and aging of the flour. For the longest time, consumers wanted refined white flour and white bread. Bleaching whitens the flour and at the same time shortens the time required for the natural aging of the unbleached flour (which turns the flour lighter in color) so it’s ready for the shelves sooner. As palates have changed and nutrition science has shown us the benefits of whole grains, it’s easy to find unbleached flour in most grocery stores.
White wheat flour is different from wheat flour aka white flour. White wheat flour or what’s called hard white wheat is nutritional equivalent to the red wheat flour that we are use to for whole wheat flours. The flavor is not as strong nor the color as dark as red wheat but the whole grain fiber is intact. Both white wheat and red wheat are whole wheat flours. White wheat is more golden in color and sweeter in taste.
To learn more about wheat, fiber and flour check out the following resources or go to our resource page at the Nutrition & Health Center at WDBO.com.
When it’s hot, do you find yourself snacking instead of eating a hot meal? Or maybe you are out and about during the day and hungry for a snack but you don’t want it to end up on your thighs or behind. The stores are filled with all types of snacks, both healthy and not. What to do? I worked with a group of motorcycle cops and one of the tricks I taught them was to keep five or six baskets in their pantry. Every week they were to refill the baskets with portable, tasty and healthy snacks. As they left for their shift, they would grab several different snacks and put them in the storage compartments on their cycles. These snacks helped to keep their energy levels up and cut down the desire to stop and snack on less-than-healthy foods.
So, what makes up a great snack? It all depends on you. Remember, nutrition is personal. For example, if you’re a stress eater you do better with a protein-carbohydrate combination snack. If you’re diabetic, you most likely have a personalized plan from your registered dietitian that you follow. If you’re watching portions, which most everyone is trying to do, how much you eat determines if it’s a snack or a meal…know what I mean?
Snacks to try:
My current favorites are three snacks from the Archer Farms line at Target/SuperTarget.
Archer Farms Dill pickle cashews
Archer Farms Black pepper & sea salt low fat potato crisps
All three of these are portable too. Just put them in a small plastic container and toss in your backpack, purse, or briefcase.
If you love nuts, check out Mrs. May’s naturals at mrsmays.com. My husband really likes the premium fruit & nut crunch sold in a bag which contains cashews, almonds, blueberries and cranberries. He takes it to work and stirs pieces into his yogurt. It’s also a great snack by itself. If you want bars to toss in your bag, check out their Trio bars made with nuts, seeds and fruit. Remember that even though nuts contain heart healthy fat portion control is important.
Are you watching a lot of movies this summer at home? Here’s an easy way to make great popcorn. Buy regular or original popping corn, not microwave popcorn. Place about ¼ of a cup in a brown paper bag like you would use to pack a lunch, add your seasoning and oil if desired. Use one staple to close the bag and then microwave on high for about two minutes depending on your microwave. It’s so easy. I learned this technique from Alton Brown on the Food Network.
More snack ideas:
Hummus or guacamole with baked chips is easy and kids love both.
Dried cranberries, cherries, or blueberries…you can find all types of dried fruit in various size bags. Dried fruit is good on cereal and stirred into yogurt or mixed into muffin/bread batter.
Hi everyone….I appreciate so much that you email me with your questions and comments. I did an interview earlier this week on snacking and looked at some of the nutrition numbers for various summertime treats. Long hot summer days just call for ice cream which I love. But with these numbers, a little on the lips can truly be forever on the hips. Did you know that according to wedmd.com, a Baskin- Robbins (one of my favorite ice creams) Reese’s® Peanut Butter Cup Sundae contains 1, 220 calories, 80 grams of fat and 92 grams of sugar? With four grams per teaspoon of sugar…that’s about 23 teaspoons of sugar. So ladies, if you’re trying to eat about 1500-1800 calories per day to lose a few pounds, this sundae alone is most of your days calories. Not to pick on Baskin-Robbins because a Cold Stone Creamery Dark Chocolate cone (large) has about 800 calories, 47 grams of fat and 68 grams of sugar.
And you know that corn dog and fries that you see at the summer fair? Count them…770 calories and 1600 milligrams of sodium. Yes, I totally get that sometimes you just must have them but I want you to understand why weight loss is such a problem. The portion sizes and thus total calories taken in require such an output in exercise that just never happens…the weight comes on and it’s tough to take off. Remember, you are in charge of yourself and your health so think about how you spend you calories. Can you split this splurge with a friend? Order a child’s portion? Choose a lower fat variety? Maybe switch to a frozen treat of 150 calories or less such as fruit bars or fudge bars, light ice creams, fruit and yogurt parfaits, or how about fresh berries dipped in dark chocolate? Trail mix with some M&Ms tossed in? There are a lot of great options.
Don’t forget to try this month’s recipe from Family Circle magazine: Black Bean Chili Burgers…perfect for these summer nights.
Get out of the way trans fat, sugar is in the hot seat now. This week the American Heart Association (AHA) released new guidelines for the amount of sugar to consume…to be accurate and specific, the amount of added sugars to consume versus naturally occurring sugar as found in whole foods such as fruit. What are ‘added sugars’? Think of added sugars as the sugars and syrups added to foods during processing or added by you at the table. Examples of added sugars include sugar, honey, molasses, brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup, agave syrup…you get the idea.
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