Reducing Sugar

Every five years, new dietary guidelines, based on extensive nutritional research and disease trends, are issued by the federal government. Guidelines released in January 2016 recommend no more than 10 percent of calories consumed come from added sugar. For the person on a 2,000-calorie diet, that’s 10 to 12 teaspoons of sugar allowed in a day.

“The average adult is getting about 22 teaspoons of sugar a day,” says integrative medicine specialist Dr. Angela LaSalle with Parkview Physicians Group-Integrative Medicine. The average child is getting 32 teaspoons of added sugar daily. “Back in the 1800s, we were consuming the equivalent of one soda a week, and now we’re consuming 10 times that.” 

For a good visual, picture eating 56 5-pound bags of sugar. That’s how much added sugar the average American adult is getting in a year. The American Heart Association’s sugar intake recommendations are even lower: 6 teaspoons, or about 100 calories per day for women; and 9 teaspoons, or about 150 calories per day for men.

So where is all this added sugar coming from and what is it doing to us?

Sugar sources such as candy, desserts and sweetened drinks are givens, but much of our added sugar comes from unrecognized sources.

“We think because it doesn’t look like the white granulated stuff we are not getting sugar. We’ve lost the term starches. We talk about carbs today. The American consumer is confused. A starch is chemically a row of sugars all connected. When our body breaks those down, it breaks 

down to sugar. It’s no different than eating a tablespoon of sugar. 

Anything ending in o-s-e, such as maltose, dextrose and sucrose, is a sugar, she says. But don’t be duped by other sources such as cane juice, molasses, corn syrup and fruit juice concentrate. Agave syrup, popular in recent years, comes from the nectar of agave plants but has been treated with enzymes to break down the plant’s complex carbohydrates into fructose and glucose. Agave syrup has 1 ½ times more calories than sugar.

“It’s not uncommon to see two or three different sweeteners in products these days,” LaSalle says.

Switching to artificial sweeteners is not the solution. Artificial sweeteners raise insulin levels and tinker with the body’s blood sugar levels. They increase abdominal obesity, and abdominal obesity affects insulin, LaSalle explains, adding, “Higher insulin levels drive cardiometabolic syndrome,” the cluster of interrelated conditions such as hypertension, obesity and abdominal fat that increase heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. “It’s hard to fight heart disease without addressing sugar,” LaSalle says, adding that cancer, joint and generalized body pain, sleep disturbances, concentration problems and depression are also associated with high sugar diets. “The common denominator in all these is inflammation.

“Nutrition is the foundation of the house,” LaSalle says. “If you’re trying to build on top of a bad foundation, you’re going to have problems. There are very few foundational fixes in medicine, but nutrition is the largest – nutrition, exercise, sleep and stress management.” 

Lower your sugar intake

Parkview integrative medicine specialist Dr. Angela LaSalle recommends these strategies to lower sugar intake:

• Keep a food diary, changing nothing the first week; track carbs and sugar.
• Read food labels; when choosing between two products with equal carbs, choose the higher fiber option.
• Eat foods in the forms closest to how they’re grown; grains going into the pot should look like grains going out of the pot after cooking.
• Eat minimally five cups of vegetables daily; veggies should take up the larger portion of your plate.
• Drink six to eight large glasses of water daily.
• Get seven to eight hours of sleep a night.
• Take a 20 minute walk daily; it increases activity in the part of the brain responsible for executive decision-making, helping you stay on target diet-wise and aiding in weight loss or maintenance.
• Plan ahead, making a week or month of meals to avoid eating out or opting for convenience foods.
• When sugar detoxing, expect some bad days. Sugar is highly addictive. Days three to five are usually toughest. Increase good carbs such as half a sweet potato or more whole-grain rice on those days; opt for lower-sugar fruits such as berries. Increasing good oils; add olive oil or take fish oil capsules to help stave off sugar cravings. Most people who can get past a week on a low-sugar diet plan will overcome withdrawal and see the benefits.
• Be kind to and encourage yourself. Don’t dwell on a bad sugar-reduction day. Celebrate successes with non-food rewards.

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