Nutrition: Key to Good Health

by Paulette Avery, R.N., M.S.N., I.B.C.L.C.

March is National Nutrition Month. I find the more I read about attaining and maintaining optimal health, the more essential good nutrition becomes to me. So I'm sharing some nutrition information about sugar for this month's column.

Good nutrition means eating the right foods, at least most of the time, and avoiding the ones that may harm our health. I like the suggestion that we aim to eat well 80 percent of the time and allow ourselves leeway to eat some of our favorite foods that may be less healthy only 20 percent of the time. This 80/20 rule can make it easier to choose healthful foods more often than not, so that when you can't resist the urge to indulge in an occasional doughnut, candy bar, or other less-than-ideal food choice, you won't feel quite so guilty.

As Americans, most of us eat way too much sugar, a whopping 150 to 170 pounds each year on average! You may eat much less than that, but for everyone who eats less, there are people eating above the average. Drinking just four cans of soft drinks, something some people do many days, provides a full quarter pound of sugar intake. According to the March issue of Prevention, "people who consume more than 74 grams of added fructose a day (the amount in two to three sweetened soft drinks) are 87 percent more likely to have severely elevated blood pressure."

Read food labels so that you know what you are putting into your body. A teaspoon equals 4.2 grams of sugar. The label tells you how many grams of sugar are contained in each serving, so dividing the grams of sugar per serving by four will tell you approximately how many teaspoons of sugar it contains. Be sure to check serving sizes too. Often the serving size listed on the label is less than what most people would eat at one time. For example, the serving size on the label of a muffin may be for only half the muffin. So remember that if you eat the whole muffin, the amounts of sugar and fat listed would be doubled. The current recommendation is to limit added sugar to six and half teaspoons each day or about 27 grams.

Learn to recognize the different names that indicate sugar content in a food. Some of the words to watch for include sucrose (also known as table sugar), fructose, dextrose, maltodextrin, beet sugar, sorghum, concentrated fruit juice, and of course, high fructose corn syrup. You'll find high fructose corn syrup used as a sweetener in many foods these days, and you may have heard to avoid it. But from what I've read recently, it is no worse than most other forms of sugar. If you focus on lowering your overall sugar intake, you will automatically lower your intake of high fructose corn syrup as well.

Lowering sugar intake may be your first step in eating more healthfully. I think you'll notice within a few days that the fruits and vegetables you eat taste much sweeter to you. Be well.

Paulette Avery is a registered nurse and a freelance writer specializing in health issues.