One thing that makes me crazy is people who invent their own facts. I find this especially trying when the facts that they make up seem to defy basic laws of physics, biology or chemistry and when there is no actual science of any kind to back up this theory.
I learned about one of those rules this week.
The American Heart Association is recommending that American women not eat more than 100 calories of added sugar per day. Added sugar is defined as sugar put into food, not naturally occurring sugars.
This made my brain hurt for several reasons including the following
– Last time I checked the fructose molecule did not have isotopes that were different in juice than they are in soda.
– The reason that they give diabetics a glass of orange juice when they OD on insulin is because of all the sugar in it.
– If a bottle of juice contains 39 grams of sugars (or about 8 teaspoons or 120 calories from sugar) how exactly is that OK to consume in unlimited quantities simply because it occurs naturally?
– 100 calories is a round number and seems really fake. Is there some reason for this number as opposed to say 120 calories or did somebody just make it up?
I agree with the general premise. We eat and drink too much sugar. It is killing us, giving us wrinkles, and making it hard for kids to think. Yes I write a lot of dessert recipes, and yes I eat dessert especially when I am testing it, but I drink virtually no sugar and I don’t eat breakfast cereal, or have a lot of ketchup, salad dressing, or other sugary foods. Sugar is a sometimes food, not an all the time food. And that is as true with chocolate milk and fruit juice as it is with soda. n
Look, soda has other issues like dyes and phosphorous and creepy sounding ingredients. In general it has no vitamins or minerals that are naturally occurring. In those ways chocolate milk drinks and juices are superior. At the same time, there are juice drinks that have far more sugar that some sodas. The sugar content in chocolate milk, whether from a cow or a soybean or a coconut is pretty disturbing.
So yes we all need to cut back on our sugar intake, but that is just as true about cutting back on fruit juice and chocolate or other flavored milks as it is about processed food. And before you cut out fruit understand that fruit itself contains pectin and fiber which really does mitigate a lot of the issues that come from consuming sugar. A whole mango does contain an alarming amount of sugar, but it also contains a lot of nutrients and fiber.
So when in doubt, read the back of the package. 100 calories is about 7 teaspoons or 28 grams. (not perfectly accurate as one is weight and one is volume but your get the idea). That is your ideal daily limit for any food that comes out of a package and has a list of more than three ingredients. Don’t try to get there in one day. Just have it be a goal.
And enjoy the ride.
