Sweetness

First, thanks for the comments on yesterday's post! I love to know you're out there...

Today 's story first showed up on my yahoo home page last night from several news sources then again this morning in my print news copy ( wall st journal). So do let us talk about SUGAR, added sugar that is, white granulated or sticky syrup SUGAR.

The American Heart Association has made a formal recommendation on the amount of added sugar or non nutritive sugar we should consume, if any, on a daily basis. The goal is to reduce overweight and obesity and the diseases so associated.

Whether or not added sugar directly causes obesity is not yet proven. What can be said is this: You have a certain amount of calories that you need per day. This amount will keep your weight steady. Which type of foods you use to fulfil that requirement determines what your body will then do for you. So weight aside, nutrients can heal you, fuel activity, accentuate brain power, help you perform physically and keep you free of chronic disease.

You can spend all your calories on junk or pleasure-only foods, but you will get a compromised system in return. Your vehicle will be a lemon. The more calories you spend on sugar, the less you spend on lean proteins, good mono and poly unsaturated fats, and the complex carbs that are our fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

The American Heart Association recommends that women consume a limited 100 added sugar calories a day, or 6 tsp which should be about 25 grams and men, (of course it is unfair) men get 150 added sugar calories, or 9 tsp at ~ 37 grams. Most of the time the food packages list sugar in grams not teaspoons. This is an approximate conversion as sugar has 4 cals per gram and Rachel Johnson from the University of Vermont who authored the recommendation gave the calorie requirements. I just did the math. Recall that I have suggested that you do not buy any processed food that lists the sugar as more than 8g per serving. Also, determine what exactly that serving size is and act accordingly.

Added sugar refers to table sugar and syrup, sugar in processed foods and some dairy foods like ice cream and sweetened yogurt. The biggest source for us is soda and juice. Most women would use all their discretionary sugar and then some in one regular soda. And as you have heard me say, "Lose the Juice." Sugar in juice is discretionary sugar in fruit it is not!

Now the American Beverage Association and the Sugar Association are not happy about this AHA statement and want to remind you that there is not a direct link from sugar to obesity, but as you can see, that is not the only reason to avoid sugar.

Oh and a last note on a comparison made in the WSJ article that got my dander up.. I KNOW that rarely happens, any ways..
A moderately active middle aged woman might consume 1800 cals
while a
Sedentary middle aged man would consume 2200
Okay, first HE does nothing and gets to eat more, second, why don't we change just the one variable, ie sex......... and compare the same activity level...