Why Diets Fail (Because You're Addicted to Sugar) (9 page)

% OF CALORIES FROM SUGAR

57%

FOOD OR BEVERAGE ITEM

Jell-O Fat-free 100-Calorie Pudding Snack, Chocolate Vanilla Swirl (110g)

TOTAL SUGARS (G)

16

TOTAL CALORIES

100

CALORIES FROM SUGAR

64

% OF CALORIES FROM SUGAR

64%

FOOD OR BEVERAGE ITEM

Mott’s Apple Juice (8 fl. oz.)

TOTAL SUGARS (G)

28

TOTAL CALORIES

120

CALORIES FROM SUGAR

112

% OF CALORIES FROM SUGAR

93%

FOOD OR BEVERAGE ITEM

Mott’s Apple Sauce, Original (1 cup)

TOTAL SUGARS (G)

22

TOTAL CALORIES

90

CALORIES FROM SUGAR

88

% OF CALORIES FROM SUGAR

97%

FOOD OR BEVERAGE ITEM

POM Pomegranate Juice (8 fl. oz.)

TOTAL SUGARS (G)

32

TOTAL CALORIES

150

CALORIES FROM SUGAR

128

% OF CALORIES FROM SUGAR

85%

FOOD OR BEVERAGE ITEM

Power Bar, Peanut Butter (1 bar)

TOTAL SUGARS (G)

26

TOTAL CALORIES

240

CALORIES FROM SUGAR

104

% OF CALORIES FROM SUGAR

43%

FOOD OR BEVERAGE ITEM

Snapple Peach Iced Tea (16 fl. oz.)

TOTAL SUGARS (G)

39

TOTAL CALORIES

160

CALORIES FROM SUGAR

156

% OF CALORIES FROM SUGAR

97%

FOOD OR BEVERAGE ITEM

Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey BBQ Sauce (2 tablespoons)

TOTAL SUGARS (G)

15

TOTAL CALORIES

70

CALORIES FROM SUGAR

60

% OF CALORIES FROM SUGAR

85%

FOOD OR BEVERAGE ITEM

V8 Fusion Vegetable Fruit, Peach Mango (8 fl. oz.)

TOTAL SUGARS (G)

26

TOTAL CALORIES

120

CALORIES FROM SUGAR

104

% OF CALORIES FROM SUGAR

86%

FOOD OR BEVERAGE ITEM

Weight Watchers Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cup (1 cup)

TOTAL SUGARS (G)

19

TOTAL CALORIES

140

CALORIES FROM SUGAR

76

% OF CALORIES FROM SUGAR

54%

FOOD OR BEVERAGE ITEM

Yoplait Yogurt, Strawberry (6 oz.)

TOTAL SUGARS (G)

26

TOTAL CALORIES

170

CALORIES FROM SUGAR

104

% OF CALORIES FROM SUGAR

61%

Sugar from Fruit

Fruit contains naturally occurring sugar in several forms, including fructose, which is different from the commercially developed sweetener high-fructose corn syrup. Does this mean that you should lump fruit into the same category as other sugar-rich foods? Not necessarily. We’ll discuss this topic in greater detail in part two of the book, but, for now, keep in mind that one thing that makes whole fruits (as opposed to fruit juices) different is that they are not empty calories, but rather, they contain nutrients and, more importantly, fiber. Fiber does a few different things that are beneficial to our health.
Insoluble fiber
is the type of fiber that helps move material through the digestive tract, alleviating constipation. Whole wheat flour, wheat bran, nuts, and some vegetables are good examples of sources of insoluble fiber. The type of fiber found in fruits, like apples, is
soluble fiber
, which means that it dissolves in water. Soluble fiber can help lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels and even reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, as well as reduce blood pressure and inflammation. It can be found in things like oats, peas, beans, citrus fruits, carrots, and barley.

An added bonus of high-fiber foods is that they can assist in weight loss. Generally, foods that contain a lot of fiber require more chewing time, which gives your body more time to register when you’re no longer hungry, so you’re less likely to overeat. Also, a high-fiber diet tends to make a meal feel larger and linger longer, so you stay full for a longer period of time. High-fiber diets also tend to be less “energy dense,” which means that they have fewer calories for the same volume of food. This is one key reason why, if you’re trying to lose weight, you should avoid eating refined or processed foods such as canned fruits, dried fruits (which often contain added sugar), most fruit juices, white bread and pasta, and non–whole grain cereals—these foods are lower in fiber content. The grain-refining process removes the outer coat (bran) from the grain, which lowers its fiber content. Similarly, removing the skin from fruit decreases its fiber content.

So, although you may not tend to eat a lot of the typical foods, such as pastries and cookies, that often come to mind when thinking of high-sugar foods, when you add up the sugar content in processed foods, you probably consume much more sugar than you intended. From your bowl of cereal at breakfast to the pasta and soft drink you have for lunch to the ice cream you eat to satisfy your sweet tooth after dinner, sugar is omnipresent in Western diets. Let’s take a look at some examples of what people might eat in a typical day (see
this page
). You may find that you can relate to one of them or know someone who can.

Note that the values in the table represent sugar; carbohydrates aren’t included. How much sugar is considered a healthy amount? It’s hard to tell bacause there aren’t recommended daily intake values. The American Heart Association has guidelines for added sugar; however, no more than approximately six teaspoons for women and nine teaspoons for men.

So, to recap some of the main points we have discussed so far: (1) we as a society are getting fatter and unhealthier, largely because we eat too much, (2) many of our diet attempts end in failure despite our initial motivation, (3) many of our foods contain high amounts of sugars, and we might not even be aware of this when we eat them. Is it possible that there is something about sugar in particular that may connect these three observations? Yes, sugars taste good and are therefore naturally rewarding, but sometimes we feel compelled to eat foods that contain them, even to the point where we feel a loss of control over eating. When we consider all of these points together, we face the question: is it possible that sugars could be addictive?

SUGAR INTAKE FOR FIVE DIFFERENT PEOPLE

Working Mom

BREAKFAST

• Large Dunkin’ Donuts frozen coffee coolatta w/skim milk (98g)

• Quaker instant oatmeal, golden brown sugar (18g)
116 grams

SNACK

None

LUNCH

• Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich (5g)

• 2 packets ketchup (12g)

• 20 oz. Coke (65g)
82 grams

SNACK

• 3 Musketeers bar (40g)

• Large Dunkin’ Donuts frozen coffee coolatta w/skim milk (98g)

134 grams

DINNER

• 56g Barilla angel hair pasta (2g)

• ½ cup Newman’s Own tomato and basil pasta sauce (9g)

• 8 oz. Simply lemonade

(28g)

39 grams

DESSERT/LATE-NIGHT SNACK

• 1.69 oz. M&M’s, milk chocolate (30g)

30 grams

TOTAL GRAMS OF SUGAR PER DAY

401 grams

Dad with a Long Commute

BREAKFAST

• 7-Eleven sausage biscuit (2g)

• Krispy Kreme old-fashioned honey and oat donut (25g)

• Krispy Kreme raspberry frozen beverage (65g)

92 grams

SNACK

^•
1 orange

(12g)
12 grams

LUNCH

• Wendy’s 10-piece chicken nuggets (0g)

• Sweet-and-sour nugget sauce (10g)

• Large chili (8g)

• Small lemonade (46g)

64 grams

SNACK

• 1 Milky Way bar
(35g)

• 12 oz. Vanilla Coke (42g)
77 grams

DINNER

1/5 of a DiGiorno microwave pizza (3g)

• 12 oz. A&W root beer (45g)

48 grams

DESSERT/LATE-NIGHT SNACK

• 1 pork eggroll (5g)

• 1 cup Uncle Ben’s white rice (0g)

5 grams

TOTAL GRAMS OF SUGAR PER DAY

298 grams

Someone Who Thinks They Are Eating Well

BREAKFAST

• Dannon fruit on the bottom 99% fat-free peach yogurt (26g)

• Banana (14g)

• 8 oz. Tropicana orange juice w/lots of pulp (22g)

62 grams

SNACK

None

LUNCH

• Panera fuji apple chicken salad (21g)

• 20 oz. Lipton 100% natural iced tea w/lemon (33g)

54 grams

SNACK

• Kind walnut and date bar (16g)

16 grams

DINNER

• Smart Ones teriyaki chicken and vegetables

(16g)

DESSERT/LATE-NIGHT SNACK

16 grams

• Skinny Cow vanilla caramel cone (17g)

17 grams

TOTAL GRAMS OF SUGAR PER DAY

165 grams

10-Year-Old Child

BREAKFAST

• 2 S’mores Pop-Tart pastries (38g)

• 8 oz. Minute Maid orange juice (24g)

62 grams

SNACK

None

LUNCH

• 2 tbsp. Skippy smooth peanut butter (3g) and 1 tbsp. Smucker’s strawberry jelly (12g)

• 2 slices whole wheat bread (4g)

• Hi-C juice box, wild cherry (27g)

46 grams

SNACK

• Entenmann’s little bites blueberry muffins (14g)

14 grams

DINNER

• 1 cup Kraft macaroni and

cheese (6g)

• 14 oz. Nesquick low-fat

chocolate milk (56g)

62 grams

DESSERT/LATE-NIGHT SNACK

• 3 Oreos (14g)

• 8 oz. whole milk

(11g)

25 grams

TOTAL GRAMS OF SUGAR PER DAY

209 grams

Recently Unemployed Person Living on a Tight Budget

BREAKFAST

Skipped

None

SNACK

None

LUNCH

• Burger King premium Alaskan fish sandwich (8g)

• Medium onion rings (5g)

• 20 oz. Coke (65g)
78 grams

SNACK

• 8 oz. 7-Eleven mango medley slurpee (18g)

18 grams

DINNER

• Nathan’s Brand corn dog on a stick (13g)

• 20 oz. Coke (65g)

78 grams

DESSERT/LATE-NIGHT SNACK

None

TOTAL GRAMS OF SUGAR PER DAY

174 grams

Note: Nutritional information taken from company and nutrition information websites.

Considering that, in some forms, sugar is a natural ingredient, and that sugars are commonly seen in our foods and drinks, it may be hard to believe that sugars could be addictive. However, as you will see in the next few chapters, the pervasiveness and excessive use of many processed and unhealthy foods, which are often rich in sugars, may have hijacked primitive brain systems that evolved to make us naturally like to eat food since we need it to survive. As a result, some of us may be faced with an unhealthy attachment to or dependence on food and a desire to overeat certain foods, which, over time, can add unwanted inches to our waistlines.