Sparkling prettily in the sun, that bowlful of sugar on your kitchen table probably looks harmless enough…and a spoonful certainly makes your bitter coffee taste better. Yet you may squirm as you sip from your mug when I tell you about a recent article published in Nature in which researchers from the University of California, San Francisco said that sugar was so dangerous that it ought to be controlled the way alcohol and tobacco are!
That’s a wake-up call for folks who know that it would be wise to cut back on sugar but could use some help getting started. Well, here is that help—the One-Day No-Added-Sugars Challenge from Miriam Nelson, PhD, a professor of nutrition at Tufts University and coauthor of The Social Network Diet. I contacted Dr. Nelson for details on the challenge, which I’ll share in a moment. First, some background…
Dr. Nelson told me that human beings are genetically programmed to like sweet foods—we’re born that way. However, worldwide sugar consumption has tripled in the last 50 years, bringing with it a host of health problems. These developments have nothing to do with our normal affinity for naturally sweet foods, such as fruit…and not much to do with the bit of sugar we stir into our coffee. Rather, the overconsumption crisis is primarily due to the ubiquity of added sugars that manufacturers put into today’s processed foods. In addition to obviously sweet treats (packaged cookies, candies, soda, sugary breakfast cereals), we unwittingly consume copious added sugars snuck into nonsweet products such as bottled salad dressings, condiments, pasta sauces, crackers, cereals and sliced bread. Freaky fact: The average American woman takes in about 24 teaspoons of added sugars every day (and the average man takes in even more).
The dangers: You know that sugar contributes to obesity and increases the odds for insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. But you may not realize that excessive sugar consumption also has been linked to increased risk for high blood pressure and high triglycerides…osteoporosis…liver disease…gout…hormonal disruptions…impaired cognitive function…impaired immunity…and various types of cancer. Plus, sugar can trigger cravings for even more sugar, creating an escalating cycle of harm.
The solution: Dr. Nelson’s challenge is straightforward—for just one day, give up all added sugars. This means forgoing the spoonful you might normally use to sweeten your coffee or cereal, but more importantly, it means becoming attuned to all the unexpected places added sugars lurk. “When you do this, you see the ‘stealth sugar’ that has come into our food supply,” Dr. Nelson said. “When I did my own challenge, I realized that there were very simple substitutions—like choosing naturally sweet balsamic vinegar for my salad rather than French dressing, which has 11 grams of added sugar per serving.” By avoiding added sugars, Dr. Nelson said, you can reduce your calorie count by nearly 400 in a single day, while still eating the same amount of food!
Manufacturers use oodles of sneaky synonyms to fool unwary consumers. So check the ingredients and avoid not only items that list sugar, but also anything that contains corn syrup…dextrose…fructose…fruit juice concentrate…glucose…honey…lactose…malt syrup… maltodextrin…maltose…maple syrup…molasses…rice syrup…sucrose…tagatose…treacle…or trehalose. (Note that whole fruits, vegetables and milk provide naturally occurring sugars, which are fine to eat during your challenge.)
Why do this for just one day rather than vowing to give up added sugars all the time? Because this challenge doesn’t require a major commitment—and diet-wise, most people can do almost anything for a single day. “This is a mind-jogger. Once you’re more aware of where all the added sugars come from, it’s easier to make a few permanent shifts in your diet. For instance, you’ll still be getting some sugar, but maybe only half as much,” Dr. Nelson explained. That level of improvement can bring significant health benefits. And it’s likely to curb your sugar cravings to boot—which will help you cut back even further in the future.
