According to Kimberly Oswalt, Registered Dietitian for Miami Valley Hospital Wellness Center and Cardiopulmonary Rehab; Julia Ahrns and Kristin Bergman, MVH dietetic interns, “The American Heart Association recommends women to limit added sugar to less than six teaspoons per day and men to limit it to less than nine teaspoons per day; one can of regular soda usually contains approximately 10 teaspoons of added sugar.”
A lot of this added sugar comes from sugary drinks, flavored beverages, like pop and flavored coffee drinks, juices, flavored almond and soy milk, said Dalton.
The second place sugar culprit is grain-based desserts such as cake and cookies, said Oswalt, Ahrns and Bergman.
With an understanding of what “sugar” options are out there, some substitutions, recipe tweaking and implementing a moderation-is-key-attitude, you can have your cake and eat it, too — on occasion.
Types of sweeteners
According to Oswalt, Ahrns and Bergman, sweeteners can be nutritive, which means they provide calories, or non-nutritive (artificial) sweeteners. Nutritive sweeteners include agave, stevia, raw and brown sugar, molasses, corn syrup, maple syrup and honey. Non-nutritive sweeteners include aspartame (Equal and NutraSweet); saccharin (Sweet ‘n Low); and sucralose (Splenda).
When complimenting a weight management program, non-nutritive sweeteners are a way to get sweetness without adding calories when used as a substitution for sugar, according to Dalton.
“Molasses, agave and honey have more nutrients than sugar, but not enough to make a real difference in a diet. You would get a greater comprehensive effect of nutrients by adding fruits and vegetables to a diet,” Dalton said.
“There are a variety of sugar sweeteners. Some are artificial, adding zero to five extra calories. Some are plant-based — much sweeter in smaller quantities than plain sugar; Splenda is 600 times sweeter than sugar; Stevia is 200 times sweeter than sugar. Because of the sweetness of these low calorie sweeteners, less is added, which overall adds less calories to your dish or meal,” said Becky Gonter-Dray, RD, CSP, LP pediatric dietitian and nutrition blogger at Dayton Children’s Hospital. “What is interesting to note — agave provides 60 calories per one tablespoon, honey provides 63 calories per one tablespoon compared to the 40 calories of white sugar. One can use less of the natural sweetener over sugar, but, may be consuming about the same calories.”
Although artificial sweeteners do not contain calories or generally raise blood sugar levels, consume them in moderation due to conflicting research as to how artificial sweeteners affect our waistlines, according to Oswalt, Ahrns and Bergman.
Ways to reduce added sugar in diet
Read labels to identify added sugars.
Oswalt, Ahrns and Bergman suggest reading the ingredient list for words that signify sugar including words ending in “ose” like dextrose, maltose, sucrose, fructose; honey; various types of sugar like raw sugar, brown sugar, invert sugar; syrups including malt or corn; and evaporated cane juice. They warn that because ingredients are listed by weight, if a form of sugar is included in the first ingredients, that product is not healthy.
“Ways to reduce added sugar in our diets: 1) reduce portions 2) reduce frequency 3) use non-nutritive sweeteners in moderation,” Dalton said.
Dalton also suggests looking at desserts differently. Instead of a chocolate brownie everyday, try a Greek yogurt parfait with frozen fruit and quality dark chocolate shavings which will provide calcium, Vitamin D, fiber, possible antioxidants and a much better nutrient profile than cookies and cake; choose canned fruit in their own juices and frozen fruit without added sugars.
Sweet tweaks in recipes
Non-nutritive sweeteners can change the quality of cooking; you may see less browning, less bulk in the final product, shorter shelf life and a different taste, Gonter-Dray said. Also, some sweeteners are not heat-stable.
“Tips: 1) Using white sugar — just cut back the sugar to half in the recipe. Usually, you will not taste the difference and your recipe will still result in a good quality product. 2) Using non-nutritive sweetener — substitute one cup Splenda for one cup sugar in the recipe — some people can taste the difference though. 3) Using natural sweetener — use ¾ cup plus one tablespoon honey in place of one cup sugar, and reduce the other liquid ingredients by two tablespoons.”
Oswalt, Ahrns and Bergman advise to check the labels of artificial sweeteners. “Always check the package or website of the artificial sweetener to know how much to use.”
Using pureed fruits in recipes to sweeten foods is a great alternative to both sugar and sugar substitutes added Oswalt, Ahrns and Bergman.
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