We asked mom dietitian Andrea Holwegner, CEO of Health Stand Nutrition Consulting and lead nutritionist to BrightPath early childhood education her thoughts on the sticky subject of sugar. Here is what she had to say:
1.What is sugar and what is the difference between added sugar and natural sugar?
Sugar is a type of carbohydrate. Our brain and central nervous system run exclusively on carbohydrate for energy, and our muscles use carbohydrates for fuel. To our body, regardless if we consume honey, brown sugar, white sugar, agave, maple syrup, coconut sugar, fruit, vegetables, milk, or yogurt, these all contain simple sugars made up of single and double units of sugar. The difference between them all is nutritional density, or the amount of vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and fibre they contain. There are also differences in what is known as the glycemic index or how fast the sugar enters the bloodstream.
Health guidelines are targeting a reduction of added sugar, which include glucose, fructose, sucrose (table sugar) as well as sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit concentrates. Added sugar is found in foods such as pop, cake, cookies, chocolate bars, frozen desserts, granola bars, and more. Health guidelines are not suggesting you reduce natural sugar found in foods such as fruits, vegetables, milk, and yogurt.
Similar to consuming too much of anything, too much added sugar can increase the total calories of your diet and increase the risk of obesity. Excess added sugar consumption is also a large concern for tooth decay in adults and children. Taking in too much added sugar can also take the place for other nutrient dense foods that are rich in nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and fibre that we need for good health. There is also growing research to suggest that high added sugar consumption can increase triglycerides (a blood fat similar to cholesterol that can increase the risk of heart disease).
You certainly don’t need to reduce healthy natural sugars found in vegetables, fruits, milk, and yogurt. The key message here is EXCESS added sugar is harmful. Infants don’t need any added sugar to their diet and as your kids get older you don’t need to eliminate sugary foods altogether but instead be mindful of your families overall consumption of sugar. There are no bad foods, only bad overall diets.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for adults and children suggest added sugars should make up less than 10% of your total calories per day, but also that a reduction to less than 5% of your total calories intake would have additional benefits (primarily for dental health).
While adults need variable levels of calories, for a 2000-calorie diet, 10% of total energy would be the equivalent of 50 grams of sugar per day (about 12 teaspoons). For younger children taking in smaller calorie levels than adults the grams or teaspoons of sugar recommended per day is obviously far less than this.
Here are some examples of sugar in foods:
Reading food labels to determine how much added sugar is in a food is actually currently quite difficult. This is because total sugar is currently listed on a food label and includes a combination of added sugar as well as those that are naturally occurring in foods such as fruit, vegetables, and dairy foods. It can be confusing on a label to see foods such as a carton of plain milk or package of baby carrots displaying grams of total sugar. These foods obviously do not have sugar added to them, but contain natural carbohydrates (milk contains lactose and carrots contain fructose and glucose).
You can take a look at the ingredient list on a food label to investigate if sugar has been added to your food. A word ending in “ose” usually has sugar. These items on a label mean sugar has been added to your food:
No. Feeding sugar to kids does not cause hyperactivity. Research has also not supported a link between eating sugar and the behavior of kids with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). What research has shown is that when kids have excess energy, it may be more linked to the experience itself. For example, the fun activities at recess time or at a birthday party leads to excitability (not necessarily the sweets fed at that time).
I will, however, say that balanced meals and good nutrition does make a huge difference in how kids feel and their overall energy levels throughout a day. If your child does not eat enough healthy food, is undernourished, or fails to consume meals with a good balance of both carbohydrate and protein to stabilize blood sugar, expect their mood and ability to concentrate to be negatively influenced.
No one food or nutrient contributes to obesity, disease and health issues. There are no bad foods, just bad overall diets. Similar to the trends we have seen in the past for low-fat diets and low-carb diets, remember to keep things in perspective. Sugar is not a villain and you don’t need to have a sugar-free diet. If you have been consuming an excessive amount of pop, sugary beverages, candy, desserts and other sugary foods, of course you could benefit from reducing these. You don’t need to eliminate them, but be clear on what you really love and save room for these favorites.
I live and teach the mantra that you can eat anything, just not everything, it’s all about being intentional about your choices. Make choices that reflect eating fully (healthfully AND soulfully). What do you really love? Keep some of these and make healthy choices around that. For me, that means brown sugar on my oatmeal, homemade baked cookies, and muffins made with regular sugar and, of course, saving room for chocolate (after all, I am the chocoholic dietitian!). To take a closer look at all the important aspects of building a healthy diet you can live with for life, download my Personal Nutrition Scorecard: www.healthstandnutrition.com/scorecard
Canada nutrition expert Andrea Holwegner “the chocoholic dietitian” and CEO of Health Stand Nutrition Consulting Inc. leads a team of Calgary nutritionists specializing in nutrition counselling for sustainable change since 2000. She is a consulting mom dietitian to BrightPath early childhood education, professional speaker and online nutrition course creator with an award-winning blog and popular free monthly e-newsletter at www.healthstandnutrition.com. Twitter: @chocoholicRD. Facebook: @chocoholicRD Instagram: @chocoholicrd
WATCH more about sugar on Andrea’s TV segment on sugar here: https://youtu.be/108aYfFTASE
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Interesting article!
Is it at all beneficial to choose one type of sweetener over another in baking? I make muffins for my little guy with date paste instead of sugar, but is that any better than, say, maple syrup or regular sugar?