Why Diets Fail (Because You're Addicted to Sugar) (8 page)

How to Identify Added Sugars
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• Search the ingredient list for the word
syrup
, such as corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, maple syrup, and agave syrup.

• Look for words ending in “ose,” such as fructose, glucose, sucrose, and dextrose.

• Compare the unsweetened version of a product (plain, unsweetened yogurt or plain shredded wheat cereal) with the sweetened version (fruit-flavored yogurt or frosted shredded wheat) to estimate the amount of added sugars.

• Beware of a “health halo” effect. Some added sugars, such as brown rice syrup, may sound healthful but they are just other forms of added sweeteners.

2,000-CALORIE DIET

It’s important to note that these nutritional guidelines are pretty generic; they are the same for a third-grader as they are for a high school football player and a middle-aged businesswoman. In reality, however, each person is different and has different daily nutritional needs depending on a wide variety of factors, including age, activity level, preexisting health conditions, and so on. Further, not everyone needs 2,000 calories per day to maintain their body weight; some may need more, while others need less. One label cannot possibly
indicate the diverse caloric and nutritional needs of so many different people. Rather, nutritional labels are meant to serve as an average or a guide. While it is important to interpret nutrition labels with caution and to understand that they are not tailored specifically to our individual nutritional needs, nutrition labels do provide us with essential information about the ingredients and nutrients in the foods we eat, which can be especially helpful to consider when trying to cut down on the consumption of certain ingredients in particular.

All You
Can
Eat, or All You
Should
Eat?

The discussion of serving sizes brings up another important point to consider when evaluating any diet: portion sizes. Since the 1970s, the portion size of many foods and beverages has increased, not only in our favorite fast-food establishments but also at other restaurants, in schools, and at home.
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8
This increase in portion sizes parallels the increases in our waist sizes during this time period, and studies suggest that this isn’t a coincidence. When we’re provided with larger portions, we tend to eat more.
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All-you-can-eat buffet? Let’s not even go there—literally!

Many of us have come to consider what is placed in front of us, or in the package that we purchase, as the amount we’re supposed to eat. When we go to a restaurant and the waiter places a plate of food in front of us, most of us eat what is on the plate even though it is much more food than what we might normally eat in a given meal. Further, people state that they base how much they eat on the amount that they are used to eating.
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If people eat based on previous experiences, and portion sizes are larger than necessary or healthy, then it is no wonder so many people are overweight. Basing
our food intake on social norms or the amount considered appropriate by a restaurant or fast-food chain is a recipe for disaster.

In later chapters when we discuss the criteria for addiction, you’ll learn about the concept of
tolerance
. Most people are already familiar with this term and know that part of an addiction involves becoming tolerant to the substance of abuse, and tolerance for addictive substances increases over time. This means that, over time, we have to consume more of the substance to satisfy our addiction. If sugar-rich and high-carbohydrate foods are potentially addictive, this means that people might need to consume larger and more frequent portions in order to satisfy their “hunger,” which is really not hunger but their addiction.

How does this relate to portion sizes? Well, this is exactly what we have seen happening in the marketplace. Fifty years ago, people ate chocolate candies that they purchased for one penny out of a jar at the neighborhood store. Then candy bars came into existence, but each was typically rather small, if you can remember the size of the original Hershey’s or Milky Way bar. Since then, candy bars have grown enormously in size. In fact, now you can buy Hershey bars that are more than three times larger than the original size. Consumer demand is what drives the market.

Similarly, over time, sugary sodas have gotten much larger. In the 1930s a typical Coca-Cola bottle, for example, was just 6 ounces, but now the standard-size can is 12-ounces. And now sodas are available in 32-ounce, 48-ounce, and even 64-ounce sizes. Car companies had to start making larger cup holders in cars to accommodate such beverages. We see the same thing when we look at the ice-cream treats in the convenience-store freezer. Ice cream started in very small Dixie cups solely in the vanilla flavor. Over time, ice-cream manufacturers added much greater sugar content by adding chocolate sauces and sugary fruit toppings. The invention of the ice-cream sandwich added chocolate wafers to the mixture. Recently, we have
seen ice-cream sandwiches explode in size and now include huge chocolate chip cookies to hold them together rather than chocolate wafers. Knowing how to read nutrition labels to determine serving size and recognizing that portion sizes have grown dramatically in recent years will help you figure out how much sugar you are actually consuming.

How Much Sugar Are You Really Eating?

The table on
this page
illustrates the sugar content in some popular foods to give you an idea of how much sugar you may be taking in. When looking at this table, you may begin to realize that you consume much more sugar than you imagined, and certainly more than you need. You might also notice that certain foods and beverages that appear harmless or even healthy actually contain very high amounts of sugar. A bottle of Peach Snapple Iced Tea, for example, contains just as many grams of sugar as a can of Coca-Cola!

With work and family responsibilities, social commitments, and leisure activities, little time is left over these days for preparing meals and snacks. For this reason, processed foods and drinks are extremely popular in the modern Western diet. These convenience foods have become a staple in our modern food culture, as they enable us to quickly and easily satisfy our hunger while we engage in the daily grind of our fast-paced lifestyles. These processed foods and drinks are convenient because they rarely require refrigeration, don’t spoil easily, and often come in cans, boxes, or cartons, which make transportation and storage convenient.

When you start to look more closely at your daily food intake, you will most likely see that you regularly eat these types of foods, and perhaps more than you thought. And you’re not alone—research shows that people, in general, value convenience a lot. We consume more and more foods from fast-food and full-service restaurants, many of which are heavily processed and laden with excess sugars and fats. In fact, research shows that between 1977 and 1978, 16 percent of people’s meals came from places outside the home. By 1995, this number had increased to approximately 29 percent.
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When you add in the amount of processed and prepackaged foods that we consume
inside
of the home, this number goes up even higher. When we take a step back and consider our own eating patterns and the research regarding the eating patterns of others, it is clear that, unfortunately, we often value convenience over nutrition, and most of us are probably not even aware that we’re making this tradeoff.

When thinking about such “convenience” foods, a theme emerges: these foods are loaded with sugars. It might surprise you that sugar is not only found in the sodas and condiments offered at fast-food restaurants but also in foods that appear healthy, like some granola bars.

SUGAR CONTENT IN POPULAR FOODS

FOOD OR BEVERAGE ITEM

Bertolli Vineyard Marinara Sauce (½ cup)

TOTAL SUGARS (G)

12

TOTAL CALORIES

90

CALORIES FROM SUGAR

48

% OF CALORIES FROM SUGAR

53%

FOOD OR BEVERAGE ITEM

Chobani Greek Yogurt, Nonfat, Raspberry (1 cup)

TOTAL SUGARS (G)

19

TOTAL CALORIES

140

CALORIES FROM SUGAR

76

% OF CALORIES FROM SUGAR

54%

FOOD OR BEVERAGE ITEM

Coca-Cola (12 fl. oz.)

TOTAL SUGARS (G)

39

TOTAL CALORIES

140

CALORIES FROM SUGAR

140

% OF CALORIES FROM SUGAR

100%

FOOD OR BEVERAGE ITEM

Craisins (¼ cup)

TOTAL SUGARS (G)

29

TOTAL CALORIES

130

CALORIES FROM SUGAR

116

% OF CALORIES FROM SUGAR

89%

FOOD OR BEVERAGE ITEM

Dole Diced Peaches in 100% Fruit Juice (½ cup)

TOTAL SUGARS (G)

18

TOTAL CALORIES

80

CALORIES FROM SUGAR

72

% OF CALORIES FROM SUGAR

90%

FOOD OR BEVERAGE ITEM

Florida’s Natural Orange Juice, Most Pulp (8 fl. oz.)

TOTAL SUGARS (G)

22

TOTAL CALORIES

110

CALORIES FROM SUGAR

88

% OF CALORIES FROM SUGAR

80%

FOOD OR BEVERAGE ITEM

Frosted Cherry Pop-Tart (1 pastry)

TOTAL SUGARS (G)

16

TOTAL CALORIES

200

CALORIES FROM SUGAR

64

% OF CALORIES FROM SUGAR

32%

FOOD OR BEVERAGE ITEM

Glaceau Vitamin Water Power-C, Dragonfruit (20 fl. oz.)

TOTAL SUGARS (G)

32

TOTAL CALORIES

120

CALORIES FROM SUGAR

120

% OF CALORIES FROM SUGAR

100%

FOOD OR BEVERAGE ITEM

Go-Gurt (1 tube)

TOTAL SUGARS (G)

10

TOTAL CALORIES

70

CALORIES FROM SUGAR

40