gumdrops and CANDY CANES keeping your family’s sugar in check!
by cara krenn
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ho doesn’t enjoy giving in to their sweet tooth every once in a while? Most of us love indulging in a nice, sugary treat, but with sugar appearing everywhere in our food --- and obesity prevalent throughout the U.S. --- it’s easy to get too much of a good thing. So when do fun family treats turn into real health problems? According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), about 13% of adults’ daily caloric intake comes from added sugar. About 2/3 of those sugar calories come from sugary foods, while the other third comes from beverages like soda. Children and teenagers get about 16% of their daily calories from sugar, with 40% of those sugar calories coming from beverages. That’s a lot of liquid sugar! Additionally, the CDC’s study found that most sugar calories are actually consumed inside the home, not while families are out and about. The good news is that doing a “sugar audit” of your home sugar consumption habits can be a quick and helpful way for you to keep your family’s sugar in check. Once you know where all that extra sugar is “hiding,” you can reduce its prevalence in your family’s daily diet. Know what “sugar” is by all of its names. Sugar can appear on food packages masked by a variety of names. The following ingredients are all “sugar”: white sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, high fructose corn syrup, malt syrup, maple syrup, pancake syrup, fructose sweetener, liquid fructose, honey, molasses, anhydrous dextrose, crystal dextrose, and dextrin. Also, remember that the higher up on a label’s ingredients list an ingredient appears, the greater its presence in the product. Cut sugary drinks – especially soda – out of your family’s diet. 33% of the average American’s sugar consumption comes from beverages. Simply eliminating soda can add up to a huge health benefit for you and your family. Still crave
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