As the Christmas season approaches, many of us here in Anguilla tend to abuse many substances including alcohol and sugar. Many individuals often use excessive amounts of sugar on a daily basis and this can negatively influence our health and potentially lead to serious consequences. Most experts agree that excessive sugar intake is extraordinarily destructive to our bodies.
Types of sugar
Sugar is the generalized name for sweet, short-chain, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. They are composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. There are various types of sugar derived from different sources. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose, fructose, and galactose. The table or granulated sugar most customarily used as food is sucrose, a disaccharide.
Sugar is often labelled on foods under several different names, some of them very difficult to recognise. Added sugars show up on food and drink labels under the following names: Anhydrous dextrose, brown sugar, cane crystals, cane sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, crystal dextrose, evaporated cane juice, fructose sweetener, fruit juice concentrates, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, liquid fructose, malt syrup, maple syrup, molasses, pancake syrup, raw sugar, sugar, syrup and white sugar. This is only a partial list!
What is a safe amount of sugar to eat per day?
Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to this question. Some people can eat some sugar without harm, while others should avoid it as much as possible.
In its natural state, sugar is a relatively harmless — even necessary — carbohydrate that our bodies need to function. It is found in fruits, vegetables, and dairy as a compound known as fructose or lactose. The problem comes when sugar is added to foods during processing for added flavour, texture, or colour.
According, to the American Heart Association (AHA), the maximum amount of added sugars you should eat in a day are:
• Men: 150 calories per day (37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons).
• Women: 100 calories per day (25 grams or 6 teaspoons).
Most experts agree that most individuals use far more than these values considering that we get sugar from a wide variety of sources.
Excessive sugar consumption
There is no doubt that in Anguilla, during the Christmas season, the consumption of sugar increases dramatically, mainly due to increased consumption of cakes, tarts, alcohol and other sugary drinks. Excess sugar consumption has been associated with obesity, type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, tooth decay, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and a lot more.
The latest World Health Organisation figures tell us 1.9 billion people worldwide are overweight, with 600 million considered obese.
Excess sugar consumption has been proven to contribute directly to weight gain.
Obesity, one of the main consequences of excessive added sugar intake, is a major risk factor for high blood pressure. New research shows that added dietary sugars — independent from weight gain — can also raise blood pressure.
People who consume a lot of added sugar are more likely to have lower levels of HDL, or good cholesterol; higher levels of LDL, or bad cholesterol; and higher levels of triglycerides, or blood fats. Bad cholesterol and blood fats clog up arteries and blood vessels, leading to heart disease.
Increasing sugar intake has also been shown to repeatedly elevate dopamine levels which control the brain’s reward and pleasure centres in a way like many drugs of abuse including tobacco, cocaine and morphine.
How do I decrease my sugar intake?
This might be very difficult for most of us but it can be done. The following might prove beneficial:
Learn to read labels. It is important to know the amount of sugar you are using. To do this you must educate yourself about what you are putting into your body. Always check the grams of sugar, and choose products with the least sugar per serving (I teaspoon of sugar is roughly equivalent to about 4 grams). Become familiar with the different names for sugar: agave, corn syrup, corn sugar, high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, dextrose, honey, cane sugar, cane crystals, fruit juice concentrates, molasses, turbinado sugar and brown sugar.
Keep sugary snacks out of your house and office. It is difficult to snack on things that are not available. Keep more fresh fruits and vegetables in your home.
Cut back on sugary cereals. Avoid sugary breakfast cereals and choose ones free of added sugars and high in fibre and nutrients. A good choice includes whole oat porridge or corn meal porridge. Sweeten your cereal with fresh or dried fruit, vanilla or fruit yoghurt, or cinnamon.
Trade sweetened foods for naturally sweet fruit. Replace foods high in sugar for fruit which is naturally sweet and just as satisfying. For example, in place of guavaberry jam, use fresh guavas. Fruit — whether it is fresh, baked, grilled, or pureed — makes a great replacement for sugar in lots of dishes, from cookies to coleslaw.
Decrease sugar intake. Cut back on the amount of sugar added to things you eat or drink regularly like cereal, pancakes, coffee or tea. Try cutting the usual amount of sugar you add by half and wean down from there.
Salad dressing can be another source of hidden sugar. Try using a good virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, or olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. You can use local herbs for added flavour.
When baking puddings, tarts, cookies, brownies or cakes, cut the sugar in your recipe by one-third to one-half.
Cut back on sugary beverages – A large percentage of the added sugar in our diets comes from sugary beverages like soda, sweet drinks, and fruit punch. Just one 12-ounce can of regular soda contains about 140 calories, all from added sugar. The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugars to less than 100 calories daily for women and 150 for men, which means that a single soda meets or exceeds the limit. You do not need to drink all these sugary drinks. Kick the habit, and replace sweet drinks with good, old-fashioned H2O spruced up with healthy, flavorful add-ins like lime or lemon.
Be open to explore the emotional issues around your sugar addiction. Many times, our craving for sugar is more for an emotional need that is not being met. If you need help, contact your healthcare provider or counsellor.
Conclusion
There is growing evidence that using excessive amounts of sugar is associated with several complications in addition to weight gain. Excessive sugar intake can adversely affect your heart, skin, liver, brain and many other organs – and is also associated with increased risk of developing some cancers like cancer of the pancreas. We can all enjoy the Christmas season without abusing sugar and alcohol. Let us all try to decrease our sugar intake today so that we can improve our lives and our health.
Ask Your Doctor is a health education column and is not a substitute for medical advice from your physician. The reader should consult his or her physician for specific information concerning specific medical conditions. While all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that all information presented is accurate, as research and development in the medical field are ongoing, it is possible that new findings may supersede some data presented.
Dr Brett Hodge MB BS DGO MRCOG, is an Obstetrician/Gynaecologist and Family Doctor who has over thirty-two years in clinical practice. Dr Hodge has a medical practice in The Johnson Building in The Valley (Tel: 264 4975828).
