How much sugar is too much?

Reducing sugar intake leaves room for more nutritious foods

By AMY BERTRAND
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Mom — and your dentist, for that matter — were right. Sugar is not good for you. It provides empty calories that fill you up and leave less room for more nutritious food.

But sugar isn’t necessarily bad for you, either.

“In moderation, you can have sugar,” said Joy Bauer, author of several best-selling nutrition books and a dietitian in New York. In fact, she said, by allowing yourself a little bit of sugar, you can keep your cravings at bay and keep your diet from backfiring. “I see that so often: People try to take an all-or-nothing approach, and it backfires.”

In fact, sugar may not even be our biggest culprit.

“Most people in Western countries are fat because they eat too much fat, and not because they eat too much sugar,” said James Shoemaker, an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at St. Louis University.

But no matter which weight-loss program you are considering, sugar is pretty much the one thing all of them want you to limit.

Sugar is a simple carbohydrate. It’s a quick form of energy and has its value in our daily lives, but it’s easy to overdo it and abuse sugar. When sugar’s empty calories displace more nutritious foods in our diet, that’s when we run into trouble.

“Sugar isn’t bad,” said Natalie Allen, a registered dietitian at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. “It’s part of our society, so don’t try to run from it. However, many of the foods with sugar are high in calories, so if people are trying to lose or maintain weight, they have trouble if they are getting too much sugar.”

Rachel Brandeis, an Atlanta dietitian and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, agrees. “I wouldn’t say sugar is something we should avoid,” she said. “We shouldn’t be on a hunt to eliminate sugar altogether. Low-carb fad diets have played a role in this phobic fear of carbohydrates. And that’s not healthy.”

You can find sugar just about anywhere: in foods you know are sugary, such as ice cream, cookies and cakes, and in places you may not suspect, such as bread, barbecue sauce, salad dressing and yogurt.

The labels may not say “sugar”; you may instead find “high-fructose corn syrup” or something like “dextrose” on them.

We are born liking the sensation of sweetness, said Brandeis. Each individual is susceptible in a different way, she said, so some people really do have a “sweet tooth.”

“Some people are genetically predisposed to want or crave a higher amount of sugar,” Brandeis said.

Indeed, sweetness can be a sensory cue, telling us when we need to refuel our bodies. Foods that are naturally sweet, such as fruit and breast milk, contain important nutrients.

There’s something innate about preferring sugar to other tastes. “We have to learn how to like bitter, sour and other flavors, but sweet is something that people really, really love,” said Bauer, the author.

So, is there anything you can do to protect your kids from inheriting your sweet tooth?

First, don’t give them sugary foods until they are exposed to it elsewhere, said Bauer.

“I think what parents need to know is that once kids get older, kids want what other kids are eating,” said Bauer. “Make sure you have control … but don’t forbid it, because then kids tend to overeat. But don’t offer sweets to them when they are babies.”

Allen recommends starting babies out on vegetables before fruits, so they don’t become accustomed to that sweet taste right away.

Many scientists balk at the idea of a sugar addiction.

“They say you have to exhibit physical withdrawal for it to be an addiction,” said Bauer. “But clearly, people will say that psychologically and emotionally, they are addicted to sugar.”

Several popular diets, such as the South Beach Diet, claim to help you rid yourself of sugar cravings.

“I think you can program your body to want less of sugary foods,” Allen said. “But I don’t think there’s an exact way to say you should go about doing that.”

Here are some ways to cut back on sugar intake:

• Choose sweets that provide some nutrients, such as ice cream, frozen yogurt or desserts that contain some fruits or nuts. Though the calories and fat may be higher, the extra nutrients make an important contribution to your diet.

• Eat throughout the day, giving your mind and body something to look forward to. “I say eat every 4 to 5 hours to stabilize blood-sugar levels,” said nutrition author Joy Bauer.

• Enjoy small amounts that really satisfy you. “Get a great piece of quality dark chocolate instead of those low-carb bars that leave you wanting more,” said Rachel Brandeis, of the American Dietetic Association.

• Make sure your meals and snacks are a mix of protein, quality carbs and heart-healthy fats so you have less of a spike in blood sugar. “Thats when you can get hungry and have intense cravings,” said Bauer.

• Dont totally give up sugar. “You dont want sugar to have the power over you,” Bauer said. “If you label it as a forbidden food, you will want it more. So selectively pick and choose what you want and work it in.”

• Avoid personal triggers. Get them out of the house.

• Dont drink your calories. Give up all sugary beverages, replacing them with milk and water, ideally. If not, just replace them with a diet version.

• Mix sweet foods with food that isnt as sweet. For example, dietitian Natalie Allen mixes Honey Nut Cheerios with regular Cheerios for her 3-year-old son.

• Read labels, looking for sugar grams and hidden sugars.

• Use reduced-sugar and sugar-free products.

• Reduce your portion size. “By going from a king-size candy bar to a snack-size, you are eliminating a ton of sugar and calories,” said Allen.

• Look for baking recipes that use artificial sweeteners.