When used in moderation, small amounts of sugar can add taste and enjoyment to foods. But most Americans eat too much sugar-a third of a pound a day, or 20 to 25 percent of the day's total calories. And excessive consumption of sugar is clearly related to obesity, tooth decay, and increased risk of developing diseases such as hypertension and diabetes.
Much of the sugar in your diet is hidden in soft drinks, candy, ice cream, frozen yogurt, cookies, sweetened granola, canned fruit, and sugared cereals. Read labels for sugar content.
Fructose, sucrose, glucose, maltose, and dextrose are all slightly different forms of sugar.
If sweets are a psychologically important part of your diet, try to decrease the amount. Cut down to one cookie a day rather than eating three or four cookies. Enjoy the natural sweetness of fruit or fruit juices; drink diet sodas or chew sugar-free gum to satisfy those cravings. Small amounts of an artificial sweetener rather than sugar in your coffee can help. Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, and vanilla as well as unsweetened apple juice can be used as flavorings to replace the sweetness of sugar. Some cereals with less than 8 percent sugar are shredded wheat, puffed cereals, Nutri-Grain, Wheat Chex, Grape-Nuts, Rice Krispies, Cheerios, Special K, cornflakes, regular oatmeal, and Wheatena.
When Eric turned to what he thought were quick-energy foods, like candy bars for lunch, he was in danger of becoming a junk-food junkie-riding the blood sugar roller coaster while consuming a large number of calories with almost no nutrients. When he was home for the holiday break, Eric's sister, who is in medical school, pointed out the problems with his diet. When he switched to complex carbohydrates and small, frequent snacks of fruit, bread, and muffins, his weight started to drop and he had enough energy to perform much better when he played soccer. He lost some of the craving for sweets and could enjoy a little dessert at night without feeling guilty or gaining extra weight.