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Sugar, ah Honey, Honey! Boy, have we gotten a lot of questions about sugar! So to all of you out there, thanks for writing in! We usually think of sugar as a bad thing, but is it really such a no-no?
Many of the healthy, beneficial foods like fruits and vegetables contain some of these naturally occurring sugars – dietary sugars in their natural state. The derivatives of sugar we want to pay attention to are the ones used in processed and manufactured foods that may not provide nutritional value.
The science behind sugars can be confusing. Fructose, glucose, galactose…plain old sugar! What’s the difference? Fructose is a monosaccharide found naturally in fruits and vegetables and used for energy. Basically, you consume fructose in three ways: natural whole foods, sucrose (white sugar) or synthetically manufactured high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
If you consume fructose in its natural state from fruit, you are consuming a variety of beneficial nutrients including fiber at the same time. This is the healthier way to consume sugars, hence why many of us recommend whole fruit as a healthy snack or if you’re looking for something sweet to eat.
The use of HFCS and sucrose as a sweetener in many processed foods and beverages is due to its relative sweetness. HFCS is fairly inexpensive and abundant, so it has crept its way into a number of foods we eat daily. Many packaged foods have sugar added to them in some form (e.g. fruit juice concentrate or HFCS) and therefore these foods can be high in calories, low in fiber and nutrients. Fruit juice concentrates are often seen as a healthier, natural way to sweeten up foods, but unfortunately they have a lot of fructose and, due to processing, have been stripped of their nutrient value (fiber, vitamins, minerals, etc.).
Dare admit it, I picked up the regular, single-serving applesauce containers the other day thinking it was the natural (no sugar added) applesauce and ended up with the high fructose corn syrup product. OK, it’s not the end of the world, but with so many items that have highly concentrated fructose in them, it can add up.
Be sure to ready your labels and avoid added sugar as much as possible. Stick to the whole foods that contain natural sugars and provide other vitamins and minerals — and specifically fiber. If you need something sweet, choose a piece of fruit (it contains fiber and other pure nutrients). Stay sweet the natural way!
Want more information? Check out eDiets.com and our community. And don’t forget that our Nutrition Support Team can help you pick the diet that will work for you!
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