Why you should limit sugar in your diet

By Bob Greene, BFA, MFA
eDiets Contributor

The average American consumes well in excess of 100 pounds of refined sugar each year. Yes, you read that correctly: 100 pounds! Consuming too much sugar has been shown to:

Cause weight gain and contribute to obesity

Increase the incidence of diabetes

Contribute to the progression of cardiovascular disease

Contribute to the incidence of various cancers

And that's just what we know now! There is no question limiting your consumption of sugar is in your best interest. We're going to look at some ways to do that, but first, let's talk about what sugar is.

Sugar is really carbohydrate. For some, this causes a good bit of confusion, since we've been told carbohydrates are good for us. The truth is, there are some carbohydrates that are bad for us and others that we need in our diet. To make sense of this, you might find it useful to learn a little about carbohydrates.

There are basically three different types of carbohydrates: monosaccharides, oligosaccharides and polysaccharides. They are distinguished by the number of simple sugars that they are made of.

Monosaccharides are simple sugars: glucose, fructose and galactose. Glucose, also known as blood sugar, can be produced when your body breaks down more complex carbohydrates. It's also found in some of the foods we eat.

Oligosaccharides are most frequently disaccharides or double sugars. They are formed when two monosaccharides combine. The three main disaccharides are:

Lactose = glucose + galactose

Maltose = glucose + glucose

Sucrose = glucose + fructose

Lactose is the sugar found in milk. It's also referred to as milk sugar. Maltose is not a common component to our diets. It shows up in malt products, such as beer and certain germinating cereals. Sucrose is the most common dietary sugar and is abundant in cane sugar, honey, brown sugar, maple syrup, even beets. We should be most concerned with limiting sucrose in our diet -- and be particularly aware of limiting refined sugar or table sugar. Refined sugar comes from stripping the natural coating from the cane plant and is found abundantly in foods such as candy, cakes, pies, soda and some cereals.

Polysaccharides occur when three or more simple sugars are combined and can be made up of hundreds of simple sugars connected to each other. They are found in both plants and animals. In animals, polysaccharides are made and stored in the muscle for energy. We call this animal carbohydrate glycogen.

When we speak of complex carbohydrates, we are typically referring to plant polysaccharides. In plants, there are two types of polysaccharides: cellulose and starch. Cellulose is the fibrous part of the plant. We know it as fiber. It's good to get plenty of fiber in your diet. You can get it from sources such as leafy vegetables, pulp and the skin on most fruits.

Starch is abundant in our diets. It's found in such foods as potatoes, corn, bread, cereal, beans, peas, rice and pasta. Some people feel they should avoid starch, when, in fact, this complex carbohydrate is very important to our diet and our health. I suggest that about 50 percent of your total calories come from complex carbohydrates as opposed to simple sugars. Unfortunately, there's been an unhealthy trend toward decreasing complex carbohydrates in favor of simple sugars. Your goal should be to limit your intake of simple sugars -- sucrose, in particular -- while increasing your consumption of complex carbohydrates.

Be aware, though, that just as there is refined sugar, there are processed grain products, such as white rice, white flour and white bread. They are much lower in nutritional value than whole grains, and should be avoided. Whole-grain breads, brown or whole-grain rice and whole-grain pastas are much better choices.

I don't believe it's necessary to keep a record of your sugar intake in the same way you would keep track of your fat grams. Most people do fine if they just know what to avoid.

Avoid: table (refined) sugar, soda, candy, pie and white flour. Processed grain products such as pastas, white rice, white bread.

Healthy Choices: Fruits, vegetables, beans/legumes, whole-grain breads, whole-grain pastas, whole-grain rice, brown rice.

-- Excerpt from Bob Greene's book Keep The Connection.

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