Sugar is everywhere these days. Sugar’s story is one so complex, it’s difficult to tell it in full all in one place. The dark side of sugar is something we read often in the headlines, ’causes cavities!’, ‘increases risk for heart disease!‘, ‘puts us at greater risk for obesity and diabetes!’, ‘speeds aging and memory loss!‘. Although all health experts agree that too much sugar is bad for you, sugar is still something we need in small amounts. At the cellular level, we couldn’t survive without sugar. But the way we eat sugar in today’s American has become something only just short of deadly obsession. With so much to tell about sugar, this Better Bites is focusing on the issue of added sugar. So let’s take a look at where sugar went wrong in America, and look at some ways we can reduce how much of the added sweet stuff we eat to get ourselves to a healthier place.

In days gone by, refined sugar was a luxury. It was added sparingly to foods on special occasions for most, if they could afford it. Most folks got what little sugar they did consume from naturally-occurring sugars in milk (lactose), fruit (fructose), alcohol (ethanol) and grains, which contain starch that is broken down into sugar by the body. After advances in agriculture, government subsidization (the politics of this we’ll save for another day) and scientific manipulation of agricultural commodities, sugar became cheap and easy to include in most everything we eat. With more sugar available and at low prices, and more processed and prepared foods available that used sugar, we started eating more of the sweet stuff.

The real sugar boom however, happened in the last 30 years. Remember our discussion on fat? When the nutritional experts went to war on fat nearly 30 years ago, Americans actually listened. We, as a society, reduced fat consumption from 40 to 30% of our calorie intake. The trouble is, without fat, we upped our intake of highly processed, added sugar. You want a fat-free muffin? Processed food companies gave us fat free muffins! To keep them from tasting like cardboard, they added more sugar. Especially newly developed, extra-cheap, shelf-stable sugars like high-fructose corn syrup. These added sugars have become ubiquitous in common grocery and restaurant items. Is anyone else horrified that regular yoplait yogurt has more added sugar than a krispy kreme glazed donut? Or that the amount of added sugar in those two items combined is still less than the amount of added sugar in one California Pizza Kitchen Thai Chicken salad? None of this should be read as an endorsement of artificial sweeteners, however. For me, the possible dangers of artificial sweeteners, not to mention the fact that they, like sugar, have been shown to raise blood sugar, is more than enough to prove that they are more hassle than they’re worth.

This sugar boom hasn’t been about getting more sugar from natural sources in our diets like our grandparents likely did. The sugar boom of the last 30 years has been fueled on added sugars. But what is added sugar? We’re talking non-naturally occurring sugar. This is usually processed sugar in some form or another, removed from it’s original source (sugar cane, beets, corn, grains, fruit, etc…) and highly refined, then added to prepared and processed foods to make them taste sweeter. What added sugar doesn’t mean is naturally occurring sugars in milk or fruit (technically, this means alcohol too, but you should go easy on the stuff anyways). Grains also contain carbohydrates that are broken down into sugar once digested, but they do not officially count as added sugar. According to current USDA recommendations, along with the recommendation of a recent report put together by the WHO and the FAO, added sugar intake should not exceed 10% of your daily calorie intake. That’s less than what you would consume in 1 20oz soda, which is sadly a daily part of of many Americans’ diets.

OK, so we eat too much of the wrong kind of sugars. So what do we do about it? First, cutting back on processed food is perhaps the single best way to take control of your intake of sugar. Sugar is added to just about everything processed in amounts that exceed what you would add cooking the same thing on your own at home. Secondly, Remember when we talked about taste and how it affects what we eat? It’s possible to relearn to taste sweet, slowly cutting back on added sugars until you are much less reliant on them.

For me, it started with coffee. After preferences for the sweet, whipped and creamy frappuccino-family of coffees, I started ordering plain lattes or coffee and adding the sugar myself. I was able to gradually use less and less sugar and still enjoy a morning cup of joe. Eventually, I weaned myself off the added sugar completely. You know what I discovered? Coffee can be really delicious. Without the sugar, I began to appreciate the subtle sweetness frothed milk adds to a latte, and how delectable the warm, nutty flavor of great coffee, served black, can be. I also realized that I consumed much less coffee in total. I wasn’t throwing back the addictive sweet drink without thinking anymore. I was sipping and savoring the fabulously intense flavors of coffee and milk, unadulterated. Now, when I sip great coffee, I can enjoy how it compliments and contrasts with the occasional sweet treat at breakfast or dessert.

We can love sugar. We can have a healthy relationship with it, consuming it judiciously in simply prepared and homemade foods. We can definitely try to cut back on processed foods, which can sneak high amounts of sugar (and other health offenders) into our diets. In so doing, we can work to live healthfully, ever after.

Photos taken at Back to Eden

Kiija Manty-Miller I’m not a chef, not a PhD (although maybe someday I will be…), but someone who is passionate about food and cooking, a nut for nutrition and excited about eating well. I’m no poster child for fit America, but I’m someone who is taking on healthy living with hope, humility and a sense of humor. I’ll be stopping in once a month and share some of the insight I’ve gained on my way to more healthful living, inside and out.