By Schuyler Corrigan

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September 10, 2023

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Why Should You Watch Your Sugar Intake?

Many major health issues including obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and heart disease have been linked to the consumption of processed foods and the added sugars found within them. Processed sugar in excess is known to cause blood sugar dysregulation, glucose imbalance, and hyperactivity in both youths and adults. Sugar is a highly addictive food, and the food industry knows this. The profit makers of the food industry are rarely on the same team as public health officials and health care practitioners. Because of these misaligned institutional priorities, it’s important to pay close attention to food labels and to make an intentional effort to reduce sugar intake below the recommended daily intake of 30 grams per day.

Read More: How to Spot Hidden Sources of Sugar

Artificial Sweetener Health Advisory

The World Health Organization recently released new guidelines advising not to use non-sugar sweeteners (NSS) for weight loss. It states, “The recommendation is based on the findings of a systematic review of the available evidence which suggests that use of NSS does not confer any long-term benefit in reducing body fat in adults or children. Results of the review also suggest that there may be potential undesirable effects from long-term use of NSS, such as an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and mortality in adults.”. 

Non-sugar sweeteners include ingredients such as acesulfame K (Sweet One), aspartame (NutraSweet and Equal), saccharin (Sweet’N Low), sucralose (Splenda), and stevia derivatives. These are commonly added to “low calorie” or “sugar-free” products like sodas, bottled tea and electrolyte drinks, sweetener packets, syrups, and packaged foods. 

Read More: WHO Advises Not to Use Non-Sugar Sweeteners for Weight Control 

Is Low Calorie More Important than Low Sugar?

It is not a sustainable nutrition approach to focus solely on calories. The overall nutrient quality of food is always more important than calorie content alone. This approach is a prime example of quality versus. quantity. The food we consume is more than just calories and therefore must contain more than just sugar. Try to consider: How nutrient-dense is the sugary food we see in grocery stores? For example, blueberries are low in calories and extremely nutrient-dense, while a Snickers bar is low in nutrients and high in calories and sugar.

What Sweeteners Would We Recommend?

At Richmond Natural Medicine, we are always starting with whole foods first. While we advise you to keep an eye on your overall sugar intake not to exceed 25-30 grams each day, we are more interested in the nutrient quality of food rather than the calorie amount. “Low calorie” is not as important as the overall effects of the food on the body, and pay attention to the daily intake in combination with the other foods you’re consuming for a well-rounded diet. 

 

We recommend you take a week or two and pay attention to the nutrition labels on the foods and beverages you’re consuming regularly. You may be surprised by how much sugar (be it “natural” or artificial) is included in many of the packaged foods you consume and how quickly you reach 30 grams in a day. When you prepare your own foods or are purchasing products that include a sweetness to them, check your labels for the form of the sugar included. 

The sweeteners we would recommend when cooking include:

1. Minimally processed honey (fructose, glucose, and water)
   • Often higher in calories and fructose content
   • Very little to no processing at all, natural food form sweetener
2. Maple Syrup
   • Naturally derived from sugar maples, red maples, or black maple trees in their pure form
   • Similar calorie content as table sugar along with small amounts of naturally occurring amino acids
3. Date Sugar
   • Derived from dates in its natural form
   • Cooking with whole dates is also a great way to get a sweet flavor into foods
4. Molasses
   • Relatively high in vitamins and minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, and iron (with blackstrap molasses having the highest mineral content)
   • A byproduct of the refining process of sugar beets, sugar cane, or grapes. Processed sugars are boiled several times and the syrupy liquid left over is molasses without the sugar crystals.
5. Table Sugar (Sucrose) in moderation
   • Usually derived from sugar cane or beet juice
   • Made up of glucose and fructose
   • Sometimes highly processed unless “raw” or “unrefined”
6. Brown Sugar (Sucrose)
   • Made of refined white sugar with 3%-10% of molasses
   • Has a slightly higher content of minerals due to the molasses content