How Sweet It Is: Tips from the Pros on Reducing Your Sugar Intake

Consuming excess sugar can lead to unsavory effects on your health. Here’s what to know to help keep your system in check.

Sugar is pretty much everywhere. Whether in the snacks and treats where we’d expect to find it lurking, or in the healthier-seeming food and drink where we normally wouldn’t, it can all add up quickly—especially as we approach the holiday season.

Sugar has many names, and not all are equal.

“The term sugar is often used as an umbrella term for a variety of simple carbohydrates, including white table sugar (sucrose), the common sweetener used in desserts and baked products,” says Alixandra Crompton, outpatient registered dietician at RWJ Barnabas Health in Jersey City. “Other forms include fructose (found in fruit, vegetables, and honey); galactose and lactose (found in dairy products); glucose (found in starchy foods, sweeteners, bread and rice); and maltose (mostly found in grains and cereals).”

Crompton explains that there are two main groups of carbohydrates: simple and complex. “Simple carbohydrates contain either one or two sugar molecules and get broken down quickly as a rapid source of energy,” she says, adding that these are found in milk, fruits, white breads, pastas, and desserts.

“On the other hand, complex carbohydrates contain a longer chain of sugar molecules and it takes longer for the body to break these down. This results in more a sustained energy source,” she continues. Foods such as whole-grain breads, brown rice, and legumes are high in starch, fiber, and glycogen and are considered complex carbohydrates.

OUR BODIES RELY ON CARBOHYDRATES AS THEIR MAIN ENERGY SOURCE, BUT IT’S BETTER TO GET THEM FROM NUTRITIOUS WHOLE FOODS.

Our bodies rely on carbohydrates as their main energy source, but it’s better to get them from nutritious whole foods.

“In a way, our bodies run on sugar,” she says. “They digest carbohydrates from food and turn it into glucose, which our body pulls from our bloodstream to use as fuel and energy. While removing added sugars can benefit our health, denying natural forms of sugar from fruit, dairy products, and whole grains may lead to nutritional deficiencies, low blood sugar, and other health consequences.”

The taste of something sweet can also come by way of processed or chemical sweeteners. Compton explains that these fall into two categories: artificial sweeteners (or sugar substitutes), and sugar alcohols.

Artificial sweeteners (like aspartame in NutraSweet and Equal, saccharin in Sweet’N Low, and sucralose in Splenda), are made from chemicals, while sugar alcohols are synthetic sweeteners made from natural sugars.

“Artificial sweeteners are safe in limited amounts,” says Crompton, noting the FDA reports not having safety concerns when aspartame is used under approved conditions, and within a daily intake of 50 mg/kg of body weight per day.

“However, they should be avoided if you have bowel disease or a rare condition called phenylketonuria (PKU), which is a condition in which the body is unable to break down phenylalanine, an amino acid found in many foods including aspartame,” she says. “Since they’re not digested by the body, they pass through the digestive tract and can cause bloating, gas, and diarrhea.”

Sugar alcohols (erythritol, glycerol, isomalt, sorbitol, mannitol, and xylitol) are sweeteners sometimes found in hard candies, cookies, gum, and soda.

“These do not spike blood sugar, as they turn into glucose slowly, and they also do not contribute to tooth decay because the bacteria in the mouth can’t ferment them,” she says. They also can produce a cooling sensation and are often added to mint-flavored products ranging from mint chocolate chip ice cream to mouthwash.

While these types of sweeteners might be an acceptable choice for some, opting for natural sources is best.

“The healthiest form of sugar is fructose, which occurs naturally in fruit,” says Michelle Wright, registered dietician at Hunterdon Health in Flemington. “Fruit is great at satisfying a craving for sweet, and if you opt for fruits that are in season, they’ll be even sweeter.”

“FRUIT IS GREAT AT SATISFYING A CRAVING FOR SWEET, AND IF YOU OPT FOR FRUITS THAT ARE IN SEASON, THEY’LL BE EVEN SWEETER.”

While giving up something we love isn’t easy, sometimes a feeling of fullness can take its place.

“It’s hard to say ‘stop eating sugar’ when it comes to making changes in the diet. Adding is much easier than taking away,” Wright says. She suggests eating filling, fibrous foods like fruit or vegetables, or eating balanced snacks like an apple with peanut butter or crackers and cheese.

“If you eat a carbohydrate and a protein together, it will keep you more satisfied, rather than eating a carbohydrate alone (like crackers), she says.

The American Heart Association recommends no more than nine teaspoons (36 grams) of added sugar per day for men, and a limit of six teaspoons (25 grams) for women.

“It can be surprising how quickly it can add up. If you’ve had three spoonfuls of sugar in your morning coffee, later eat a candy bar, and have dessert after dinner, that’s all added sugar,” says Wright. “Some single-serving yogurts contain the entire daily-limit amount of sugar or more.”

The best way to keep track? Keep an eye on nutrition labels.

“Food labels are required to note how much natural sugars versus added sugars are in a product,” she says, and then adds: “If you truly want to stay ahead, choose whole foods that don’t come with a nutrition label at all.”

Perhaps the most effective method of reducing sugar intake is knowing it’s linked to a host of negative health issues.

“Sugar is addicting, and it’s scary,” says Bao-ngoc Nasri, bariatric surgeon at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark. “One moment you’ll feel satisfied, then soon after you’ll want more,” she says. Since sugar is hidden in many processed foods, people are becoming more tolerant of it and able to consume more.

“The more you add sugar to your diet, the more your taste buds get used to it, and the harder it will be to change back,” she says. Overindulgence in sugar can lead to health issues like obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver disease, and more.

Nasri says a simple way to reduce sugar intake is to fill up on foods to reduce sugar cravings.

“The sequence in which you eat food is important,” she says. “If you eat protein first, then a big fibrous salad, then something higher in carbohydrates, you’re not going to have room for dessert, and it will be easier for the signal to your brain to say ‘I’m full.’”

So before grabbing a second slice of fruitcake or that gingerbread man with perfectly piped icing, avoid a sugar crash with a sensible snack. You’ll keep your holiday energy well spent with family and friends.

TIPS FROM THE PROS ON REDUCING YOUR SUGAR INTAKE
 

Michelle Wright, registered dietician at Hunterdon Health in Flemington:

• When a recipe calls for sugar, use less, or use applesauce with no added sugar as a sweetener instead. You can even use half applesauce, half sugar.
• For snacks, reach for fruit, low- or no-sugar-added yogurt, fruit smoothies, dark chocolate, or dark-chocolate-covered fruit.
• For holiday desserts, go for the fruit desserts like apple pie, apple crisp, pumpkin pie, or pumpkin cookies. Anything with fruit will have more natural sugar, although beware of added sugars. If you’re the one doing the baking, you can use less sugar and enjoy it more knowing so.

Alixandra Crompton, outpatient registered dietician at RWJ Barnabas Health in Jersey City:

• Before your holiday party, enjoy a high-fiber snack (like fruit) or protein (like nuts).
• Share holiday desserts with others, or go for bite-sized or half portions of desserts.
• Be on the lookout for desserts with cream, thick and rich fillings, frostings, or holiday candy.
• Alcohol alone is pretty calorie-dense. Eggnog combines fat with a sugary, caloric alcoholic punch. Alternate alcoholic beverages with water to reduce overindulging.

Bao-ngoc Nasri, bariatric surgeon at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark:

• Take small steps daily to reduce your sugar intake. Try using less-refined sugar like brown sugar, maple syrup, or honey. Or if you’re used to two tablespoons of sugar in coffee, reduce to one. You don’t have to take sugar out of diet completely; just limit it. Your taste buds will get more sensitive to sugar and you’ll naturally use less over time.