{"id":102234,"date":"2016-04-11T10:09:34","date_gmt":"2016-04-11T15:09:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/?p=102234"},"modified":"2016-04-11T10:12:28","modified_gmt":"2016-04-11T15:12:28","slug":"the-show-down-of-the-sugars-added-vs-natural","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/04\/the-show-down-of-the-sugars-added-vs-natural\/","title":{"rendered":"The Show-Down of the Sugars: Added vs. Natural"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Seven<\/a><\/p>\n

For something so sweet, sugar really can be quite awful. That\u2019s because if you\u2019re consuming more than 21 percent of your daily calories from added sugars, you double your risk of death from heart disease compared to people who consume just 10 percent of their calories from added sugars<\/a><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s according to a 2026 study published in the <\/span>Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine<\/span><\/i>. The researchers also found that if you consume slightly less added sugar, you\u2019re still at a higher risk of death. Those who consumed 17 to 21 percent of their daily calories from added sugars increased their risk of death from heart disease by 38 percent.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the key word there is \u201cadded.\u201d Sugars that are considered \u201cadded\u201d aren\u2019t just a sprinkle of granulated sweetness in your morning coffee, but high-fructose corn syrup, sugars in cakes, cookies and sodas, and other processed foods. This added sugar can cause blood sugar spikes, weight gain and can leave you feeling hungry. Natural sugar\u2014the kind found in whole fruits and milk\u2014is different. <\/span><\/p>\n

Courtney McCormick, Corporate Dietitian at Nutrisystem<\/a><\/strong>, answers your most pressing questions about added and natural sugars below and gives some advice on how to avoid added sugars and incorporate natural sugars into your diet.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What\u2019s so great about natural sugar?<\/b>
\n<\/b>Natural sugars don\u2019t ride alone. Like added sugars, the fructose from fruits and lactose from milk delivers about 15 calories of pure carbohydrate per teaspoon. But they bring friends. When you eat a strawberry or an orange, the fructose brings along important nutrients like Vitamin C, potassium and other stuff your body needs to function and stay healthy\u2014making the blood sugar spike more than worth the effort. And the spike is managed by fiber, a nutrient that also makes you feel full and stay feeling full. Lactose from milk brings along calcium, Vitamin D and protein\u2014which, like fiber, makes you feel full and keeps you feeling that way.<\/span><\/p>\n

Compare that to added sugars, like those found in a soda sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup<\/a><\/strong>. In addition to the fiber-free blood sugar spike, studies have shown that consuming carbohydrates as a liquid produce less satiety\u2014fullness and satisfaction\u2014than solid carbs, meaning you could still feel hungry after drinking the fizzy stuff despite the glut of calories you\u2019ve just consumed.<\/span><\/p>\n

So added sugars aren\u2019t great, but I still like them. How much can I eat?<\/b>
\n<\/b>Depending on the survey, Americans eat, on average, between 200 and 350 calories of added sugar every day\u2014that\u2019s as much as 22 teaspoons per person. According to the American Heart Association, that\u2019s way too much. The organization recommends a limit of 100 calories per day for women, and 150 per day for men. Those come to six teaspoons and nine teaspoons, respectively. With a teaspoon of sugar roughly equal to four grams, that\u2019s less than a 12-ounce soda for women, and just over one can of full-calorie soda per day for men. (Another example: That\u2019s about seven Oreos for females, and 11 for males.)<\/span><\/p>\n

But the Nutrition Facts Panel label just says \u201csugars.\u201d How can I tell if a food has added sugar or natural sugar?<\/b>
\n<\/b>It\u2019s true: The Nutrition Facts Panel label shows grams of \u201csugars,\u201d making no indication whether they\u2019re naturally occurring or not. But the label can still help via the list of ingredients.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sugars can appear listed simply as \u201csugar,\u201d but several other words are also used to indicate added sugars. Some of the most common code words for sugar are: high fructose corn syrup, honey, cane sugar, brown sugar, dextrose, maltose, sucrose, syrup, molasses, evaporated cane juice, glucose, fruit juice concentrates, agave nectar, cane sugar (really, cane anything), and raw sugar.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lots of words, but one thing in common: They\u2019re not natural sugars. And the ingredients on any label are listed in descending order by weight. So the earlier in the ingredients list one of these code words appears, the more of it in the food product. If one of these sugars appears first on the list, eat in moderation or consider swapping for a treat with less sugar.<\/span><\/p>\n

Want to try Nutrisystem<\/a>? Click here for a special money-saving offer<\/a>!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Also Read:<\/p>\n

How to Cut Sugar from Your Diet<\/a><\/p>\n

Sugar Consumption is Out of Control in U.S.<\/a><\/p>\n

How Much is Too Much Sugar?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For something so sweet, sugar really can be quite awful. That\u2019s because if you\u2019re consuming more than 21 percent of your daily calories from added sugars, you double your risk of death from heart disease compared to people who consume … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[350,3695],"tags":[8753,8440,13,279],"class_list":["post-102234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diabetes","category-diet-and-nutrition","tag-added-sugar","tag-homepage","tag-nutrisystem","tag-sugar"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102234"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102240,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102234\/revisions\/102240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}