ADDED SUGAR CAN BE HARMFUL

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ADDED SUGAR CAN BE HARMFUL

Gabe Mirkin, M.D.

Thirty-nine leading public health associations have signed a petition asking

the Food and Drug Administration of the United States to require food labels

to provide information about the amount of sugars added to foods and drinks

(August 4, 1999).

Food labels already list the amount of sugar, but they do not tell a person

whether the sugar is added to the food or drink or is there naturally. The

National

Soft Drink Association rightfully responds that there is no difference

between table sugar and the sugar found naturally in fruits and vegetables,

but

fruits contain vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals that help keep you

healthy. Added sugar contributes only empty calories.

Added sugar is more unhealthful than sugar in fruit such as raisins, or in

root vegetables such as beets. Sugar that is bound up with the fiber in

fruits

and vegetables takes much longer to digest than sugars which have been

extracted from their plant source -- sugar cane, sugar beets, fruits, trees

or flowers

(that includes honey and maple syrup). When you eat, your blood sugar rises.

Refined sugar in foods and drinks causes blood sugar levels to rise quickly,

causing your body to increase production of insulin which acts on your brain

to make you hungry, so you eat more and on your liver to cause it to make

more fat.

In the last 25 years, the average American has reduced his intake of fat

from 43% down to 32% and he is 11 pounds heavier. Clearly a low-fat diet

will not

help a person to lose weight or lower cholesterol unless it also gets a

person to take in fewer calories.

The average American takes in 20 teaspoons of added sugar each day. A

reasonable upper limit is 10 teaspoons a day. But you would get an entire

days limit

of 10 teaspoons of added sugar from a 12 ounce soft drink. A Mc's

shake contains 12 teaspoons of added sugar and an 8-ounce container of

low-fat,

fruit flavored yogurt contains 7 teaspoons of added sugar. If you are trying

to lose weight, lower cholesterol or high blood pressure or just eat

healthfully,

you should limit added sugars as well as flour-based products such as bakery

goods and pastas. See report

#D222.