SUGAR - The Sweet Killer

We know that too much sugar in a diet can lead to type 2 diabetes and obesity, but now sugar is also being blamed for an increase in our risk of CVD, Cardiovascular (heart) Disease.

A study published today in JAMA Internal Medicine demonstrates a link between sugar added in meal preparation or processed foods and the risk of death from a heart problem. Even one 140-calorie soda (or any other sugar-sweetened beverage) a day resulted in an increased risk of death.

High sugar consumption may double the chance of dying from heart disease.

The major sources of added sugars are regular soft drinks, sugars, candy, cakes, cookies, pies and fruit drinks, dairy desserts and milk products (ice cream, sweetened yogurt and sweetened milk); and other grains (cinnamon toast and honey-nut waffles). Sugar from fresh fruits and vegetables isn’t considered added sugar.

To figure out if a packaged food contains added sugars, and how much, you have to be a bit of a detective. On the Nutrition Facts panel, the line for sugars contains both the natural and added types as total grams of sugar. There are four calories in each gram, so if a product has 15 grams of sugar per serving, that’s 60 calories just from the sugar alone, not counting the other ingredients.

To tell if a processed food contains added sugars, you need to look at the list of ingredients. Sugar has many other names. Besides those ending in “ose,” such as maltose or sucrose, other names for sugar include high fructose corn syrup, molasses, cane sugar, corn sweetener, raw sugar, syrup, honey or fruit juice concentrates.

Limit your consumption of foods with high amounts of added sugars, such as sugar-sweetened beverages. Just one 12-ounce can of regular soda contains eight teaspoons of sugar, or 130 calories and zero nutrition.

The American Heart Association recommends that women consume no more than 100 calories per day from added sugar. For men, it's 150 calories. This falls below even the WHO guidelines, for most people.

Most of this article came from the American Heart Association at the following website


Ray R Barmore
Health and Wellness Coach
The Herbal Guy
San Diego California
619-876-5273
Skype: barmore4

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