As you may recall I have been speaking of the evils of sugar in this blog. Well, there is more to the story. Added sugar is now in trouble. It is in processed foods and beverages plus the sugar you add yourself. Be prepared for some news. I have both good and bad news. Your Grande Carmel Frappuccino has 64 grams sugar. Your 20 oz. Berry Smoothie has 75 grams of sugar. Ouch! Here is the story.
It was recently reported that American adults get about 13% of their daily calories from added sugar. On average, women got 240 calories from added sugar per day. Men got 335 calories a day from added sugar. To me that’s a lot of added calories.
The only good news was that number is down from 15 years ago because of less consumption of sodas. Men should limit their intake of sugar to 150 calories or 9 teaspoons per day according to the American Heart Association. Women should limit sugar consumption to 100 calories or 6 teaspoons per day. To an Encino dentist like me that sounds like something I can do.
The researchers are also in on the sugar war . Two very large studies have been recently completed. The first report’s data is from 175 countries and over the last 10 years. Both had more bad news. The occurrence of Type2 diabetes increased by 1 percent for every 150 calories of added sugar consumed per day. This number was adjusted to account for all the variables involved and is likely very accurate.
The second study published in Europe reviewed data from 16000 people from 8 European countries. They found that for every 12 oz. can of soda consumed the chances of getting type 2 diabetes increased by an alarming 18 percent. That number really got my attention. A bright spot is that juice did not increase diabetes risk at all.
An ongoing Harvard Study released this spring found 180,000 deaths and 25,000 US deaths occurred each year linked to sugar linked obesity. 3/4 of the deaths were from diabetes and the remainder from heart disease and cancers. All the numbers were once again adjusted for factors that cause weight gain.
By and large Encino Family Dentists like myself have a hard time convincing people to reduce there sugar intake. Even our recommendation to reduce sugar intake usually goes unheeded. Maybe now with these statistics on the serious diseases and there relationship to added sugar we will get some attention.
Now at last the good news I promised. Red wine (5 ounces) has only 1 gram of sugar and Dark chocolate (3 kisses) has only 7 grams. Those nice numbers are at least some consolation to me. I won’t go hungry for sweets.
Tip of the Day: I personally use a product called Stevia. It is all natural and is made from the leaves of a plant in Brazil. I like the brand called “Stevia in the Raw”. It tastes good to me and has replaced all the other sweetening additives I used in the past.
Allan Melnick DDS
