With the holidays right around the corner, it is a great time to consciously think about our sugar intake, before we start indulging in the candy, cookies and pies. A little sweet treat is tasty and can even feel therapeutic to our soul… it’s the overindulgence that can derail our health plan. Sugar directly affects our gut health and immune system, as well as contributes to weight gain and subsequently Type 2 Diabetes.
The new Nutrition Facts label that the FDA is implementing can help. Manufacturers are not required to fully implement it until January 1, 2020 (2021 for smaller companies), but we are already seeing it on many products. The Serving Size is different, and more realistic for many foods, such as a soft drink. The Calories are in larger print, the Daily Values are updated, some additional nutrients are highlighted and perhaps most importantly, Added Sugars are indicated under the Total Sugars category. (fda.org)
What does this mean to us? Well some foods, like dairy, vegetables and fruit contain naturally occurring sugar versus many products that have sugar added. Some products have a great deal of sugar added, so this section will be very important when we are choosing between products. Naturally occurring sugar is more easily digested and utilized by our bodies, while added sugar can throw us out of balance.
According to the American Heart Association our sugar consumption should be a very small part of our overall daily intake: Men no more than 36 grams, Women and Children no more than 25 grams. Sugar has many different names: ingredients that ends in “ose” would be a sugar, as well as corn syrup, syrup or honey. (heart.org)
Together we can keep our families healthy by eating more natural, whole foods and less added sugar.
