Sneaky Sugar

I heard a Pepsi commercial this week on the radio.  The marketing hook was Pepsi with “real sugar”.  I was afraid of this.  With the hype and awareness around high fructose corn syrup, manufacturers are now using sugar (cane sugar/sucrose) again and promoting it as a good thing.  HFCS, is a liquid sweetener, easy and less expensive for manufacturers to use in their sweetened beverages and processed foods.  It seems we are switching back to sugar in many products.  Although I would agree that cane sugar is the lesser evil; added sugar is added sugar and the the real message stays the same…LIMIT YOUR INTAKE OF ALL ADDED SUGARS.

For informational purposes only, I wanted to share a description of many sugars on the market today.  Some may be better choices than others as some may be a more natural sugar, less processed or contain trace minerals.  However, keep in mind that you are not consuming sugar for nutritional value.  

THESE ARE ADDED SUGARS.  Consider the better argument that because some sweeteners are sweeter than others, you might use less of it…and that is a good thing.  They also may wreak less havoc on your blood sugar as well.  My overarching advice is to limit sugar and know how much you are consuming.  

Types of Sugar:

• Turbinado sugar is made with larger crystals and is made at an earlier period in the sugar cane processing method. It retains some of the flavor of molasses, a natural byproduct of the sugar process.  It has 11 calories per teaspoons compared to the 16 in table sugar.  Some of you may recognize this sugar by the name “Sugar in the Raw.” 
• Agave is a liquid natural sweetener extracted from the core of the Agave plant. This is a sweet mild nectar and is a multi-purpose sweetener.  It can be used as a one-for-one replacement for sugar, then adjust to your own personal taste. This has about 20 calories per teaspoons but some say it is a little sweeter than sugar so you can use less.  This is a little pricey.
• Honey is more natural for one example.  Honey is sweeter by comparison to granulated sugar (table sugar) so you do not need to use as much honey as you would the granulated variation.  Honey has vitamins and minerals.
• Why maple syrup?  It is from a tree…NATURAL.  Pure maple syrup has health benefits because it has vitamins and minerals as well as amino acids (building blocks of protein).   It can also be pricey.
• Brown sugars are processed to varying degrees.  Molasses is added back into it, and therefore it contains some trace minerals.  Keep in mind these sugars are not consumed for their nutritional values.  They are still considered sweeteners and should be used sparingly.  They are the healthier whole food options to the other processed sweeteners in the market.  
• Brown Rice Syrup is considered one of the healthy sweeteners in the natural food industry made from brown rice. You will find it in some of the healthier granola bars and cereals.  You can use it as a sweetener at home and in baking.  
• What about fructose or fruit sugar?  Yes, sugar from the actual fruit sounds right.  However, in commercial use, it is sometimes derived from sugar cane or sugar beets.  Fructose is sweeter than many sugars.  If we are talking about eating a piece of fruit, then munch on and read my blog from last week http://www.healthinspires.com/blog/have-your-fruit-and-eat-it-too .
• Artificial: AVOID.  Saccharin (Sweet’n Low), Aspartame (Equal), Sucralose (Splenda), Stevia…Many, if not all of these sweeteners have various degrees of cancer causing proof in lab animals (rats) and in studies lately, have been related to an increased risk of excessive weight gain, metabolic syndrome , cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.  Why?  The premise is that your hormones and your brain response is altered with these sweeteners and therefore you never get the reward of feeling satisfied.  At the very least, can we agree that this stuff is chemically made?  Many people have turned to Stevia because it comes from a plant and it has no calories and is marketed as the “natural sweetener”.  I am weirded out by that as well, for no other reason than it comes in a package.  A plant in a package?  Consider what chemicals were used to package and process it into its powdery form.  I lump it in with that no reward brain theory as well.  Plant or not, it comes in a package from a food manufacturer.  For the record and to play devil’s advocate, cane sugar and beet sugar (“real” processed sugars) actually contribute to these diseases more than artifical sugars…which brings me back to my mantra…
• LIMIT ALL ADDED SUGARS.

Health Inspires.

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