To the Rescue of an Old Friend- Part 2


(Salvation Army serves donuts to troops in the field WW1.)

What better day than National Donut Day, first day of June, to finish what I started last week in defense of my friend Sugar?  She is apparently your friend too.  From 1915 to 1980 the average daily consumption of sugar rose from 15 to 75 pounds of sugar. Fast forward early 2000s,  Americans added 15 pounds making it 90 lbs. of sugar annually (while other reports cite 150 lbs.) In that same time obesity more than doubled from 1 in 7 to 1 in 3 Americans, and incidence of diabetes did the same going from 6 million to 14 million.  One study claims that as of 2011 we are now consuming 20 teaspoons (77 grams) each day, and that is without the natural sugars found in fruit, vegetables and milk counted in!  That is double or triple the USDA recommendation depending on your age. (1)  Is this just the sweet fellowship of Sugar and her adoring social circle, or is there a sinister undertone we would be wise to take a look at?

Look at,  yes.  Dr. Robert Lustig, professor of clinical pediatrics at UC San Francisco calls Sugar “toxic”.  That word means something like poison, meaning it will either bring you to your knees in sickness or kill you straight out.  An overabundance of sugar causes high blood sugar, high blood pressure and resistance to the work of insulin in the body, or all of these together called Metabolic Syndrome.  Insulin is what your body uses to get sugar out of the blood and into the cells to be stored or used as energy.  If insulin is resisted, your pancreas just sends more insulin.  Is that a bad thing?

Yes, it’s kind of like the domino effect.  Large amounts of fructose, the kind of sugar found in sweetened drinks and desserts, which can only be metabolized in the liver, become stored as fat in the body and in the liver, which leads to Metabolic Syndrome.  This syndrome has been shown to lead to heart attack and diabetes.  If those two don’t get you there is always the insulin-resistance.  More insulin in the blood has been linked to internal inflammation and the growth of tumors, as well as feeding the growth of pre-cancerous cells. (3)(4) (5)

Though there is debate between researchers about exactly what precedes what in the whole plummet, numbers speak for themselves.  The consumption of high fructose corn syrup skyrocketed 1,000% between 1970 and 1990, and was “mirrored” by the rise of the current obesity epidemic.  (7)  It is the sole sweetener of soft drinks , which is 36% of the added sugar in the American diet, followed by store bought desserts, sugar-sweetened fruit drinks, dairy desserts and candy.  One can of soda has 10 teaspoons of sugar. (8)

The USDA recommendation for maximum healthy intake of daily sugar is:
-6 teaspoons of sugar a day for women
-9 for men
-3-5 for children
-up to 8 teaspoons for teens. (8)

Sweetened drinks allow for an enormous amount of sugar to be consumed in a short amount of time, but it is hidden in other places you might not expect.
A California Pizza Kitchen Thai Chicken Salad has about 11 teaspoons,  as well as Jamba Juice Blackberry Bliss and one Sprinkles Red Velvet cupcake. Subway 6” Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich 4 teaspoons,  and Vitamin Water 20 oz. bottle 8 teaspoons.  A Crispy Crème donut has 2 1/2 teaspoons while “healthy” Yoplait yogurt has almost 7! More than 14 teaspoons lurk in a Starbucks Vanilla Frappuccino Grande and a small bowl of Fruit Loops cereal has 3. (9)  You can see how easy it is to double, triple or even quadruple the recommended daily amount without ever realizing you were consuming so much sugar.

I know I sang the sugar blues today instead of fully exonerating my friend, but I wanted you to know first why everyone is so mad at her. I will deliver on her defense next week with lots of ideas for enjoying her sparkling personality without getting blind sided by her sinister dark side.  If you are starting to home cook more of your own meals then you are well on our way.  Try Yummy, Healthy Pancakes Sans Syrup for a great alternative to a normally sugar soaked dish.

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Molly

(1) (2)  http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/14/health/la-he-sugar-20120414
(3)    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html?pagewanted=all
(4)  http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/hnf/hnf_6037.htm
(5)  http://www.yalescientific.org/2011/04/research-links-sugar-consumption-fat-production-and-diabetes/
(6)  http://www.livestrong.com/article/517986-the-recommended-amount-of-sugar-to-be-consumed-per-day/
(7) http://www.ajcn.org/content/79/4/537.full
(8)  http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/DietaryGuidelines/2010/PolicyDoc/Chapter3.pdf
(9)  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/darya-pino/shocking-sugar-content-of_b_514879.html