The World Health Organization is in the midst of writing guidelines for the use of added sugar in diets. Sugars contribute to the energy required by the body but maintaining a balance is critical to regulating body weight and ensuring optimal nutrient intake.
Currently a daily maximum of 10 percent of calories from added sugars is recommended. WHO wants to create guidelines that will help prevent Type 2 diabetes, dental diseases and weight gain.
The most recent Canadian study shows that Canadians in 2004 consumed 110 grams of sugar each day, the equivalent of 26 teaspoons. This amounts to 21.4 percent of the total daily calorie intake.
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Information from sugar companies paints a rosy picture on the health benefits. The associations put a positive spin on the calories and compare it positively to fats. They tout it as a natural product without additives or preservatives and stress it is not the same as high fructose corn syrup.
The concern is that consuming food with added sugar reduces the likelihood of eating more nutritious food. Although the body handles natural sugars and added sugars in the same way, food with naturally occurring sugars usually come with a variety of important nutrients.
For example, one cup of milk contains 13 grams of sugar. Lactose is the natural sugar in milk and it is accompanied by significant amounts of calcium, phosphorous, vitamins A, D and B12, magnesium, protein and other trace nutrients.
How did the world arrive at this place where sugar consumption has become a global concern?
It is fair to say that people have always had a sweet tooth. Cave drawings in Spain show women collecting honey from wild bees as early as 12,000 years ago. When sugar was first introduced to Europe, around 1100 AD, it was in the same category as spices. It was exotic and pricey and used sparingly, even by the wealthy.
Production increased when 15th century explorers brought it to the Caribbean, Sicily and Crete. Then during the Napoleonic wars in the early 1800s, the transport of sugar was blocked and a substitute was sought.
Sugar beets replaced most of the cane production because it was cheaper to produce and better suited to northern climates. People now had access to affordable sugar.
Learning to live with less added sugar is not only possible but necessary for many people. Close to 2.4 million Canadians had diabetes in 2009 or about seven percent of the population, according to a 2011 report by the Public Health Agency of Canada. That is expected to grow to 3.7 million by 2018.
As a cook, I know that the amount of sugar in most dessert and sauce recipes can be reduced without diminishing the taste of the end product. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom or vanilla to enhance flavour.
Learn the names for added sugars. Dextrose, fructose, maltose, concentrated fruit juice, molasses, corn syrup and agave nectar are just a few of the more than 200 ingredients used to add sugar to processed food.
Read the nutrition label. There is no requirement to disclose the added sugar, only the total sugar but many foods contain natural sugars. For example, a serving of chocolate milk has about 20 g of sugar, of which 13 grams is natural sugars.
Be especially wary of low-sodium and low-fat processed foods. Food scientists spend a lot of time calculating the optimum ratio of sodium to fat to sugar to please consumers. Sugar is often increased when reducing these other two ingredients.
Purchase canned and frozen fruits without added sugar. Buy fewer baked goods, candies and soft drinks. One can of pop every day for a year is equal to eating 26 pounds or almost 12 kilograms of sugar.
Condiments, especially ketchup, are often high in sugar. Liquid sugar placed second in a list of six ingredients on my ketchup bottle, with four grams of sugar in each tablespoon.
This is the equivalent of one teaspoon of sugar in every tablespoon of ketchup. My barbecue sauce was 50 percent higher than the ketchup.
Careful selection of snack foods is important. Water is still the best beverage choice. Vegetable sticks, fresh fruit, low-fat unsweetened yogurt with fresh fruit, homemade granola bars and small portions of unsalted nuts are healthy choices.
Salads with homemade dressings, toast and peanut butter, cheese and rice crackers, hummus or guacamole with vegetables and hard-boiled eggs are also good choices.
