Spotting Sugar!

         This post is all about sugar awareness. As I hope most of you know, sugar in the amounts that most people eat it is terrible for your body, and in another post, we will go over some of its effects. Since the 1700s, sugar consumption has been on the rise. In the 1700s, the average person consumed about 4 pounds of sugar per year. During the 1800s, that amount increased to 18 pounds per year. By the end of the 1900s, people were consuming 90 pounds of sugar per year. How much are we eating now? Today, the average American is eating over 150 pounds of sugar every year! Most people don’t even realize how much they are consuming. So this week’s goal is to begin understanding food labels and recognizing the tricks companies use to make sugar look like a smaller ingredient than what it is.

1.                 1) Know the different names of sugar! First, anything ending in –ose is a sugar; glucose, fructose, maltose, galactose, and lactose. Other names sugar goes by include cane juice, dehydrated cane juice, cane juice solids, cane juice crystals, dextrin, maltodextrin, dextran, barley malt, beet sugar, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, caramel, buttered syrup, carob syrup, brown sugar, date sugar, malt syrup, diatase, diatastic malt , fruit juice, fruit juice concentrate, dehydrated fruit juice, fruit juice crystals, golden syrup, turbinado, sorghum syrup, ethyl maltol, maple syrup, yellow sugar.

2.                 2) When reading labels, you will notice that ingredients are placed in order from most used to least used. If you start paying attention, you will also notice that most of the time sugar is listed more than once with different names. Sugar is sugar. All of these different names have the same damaging effects on your body. Companies separate them into different names to make it appear that sugar is not as high on the ingredient list as it should be.

3.                 3) Our bodies have a low threshold for sugar, normally about 2 teaspoons of added sugar two to three times a day. Now, one pound equals 96 teaspoons. This means that the average American is eating about 40 teaspoons of sugar per day, which is well over the limit. Looking at food labels, you will see that sugar is labeled in grams, and 4 grams equals one teaspoon. Anything with more than 8 grams of sugar per serving is too much! And you have to make sure you only eat that one serving!

Start looking at the labels of the foods you are eating and build an awareness of your sugar intake. Every time you reduce your sugar intake, you are on your way to being a healthier you! 

-Dr. Samantha Boldt

       Folic Acid VS. Methylofolate

       For years, health professionals have been spouting the wonders of folic acid and the need for it to be taken by all pregnant women. Current research, however, has shown otherwise. Whereas folate is the natural, dietary form of vitamin B9, folic acid is the synthetic form, and is slightly different in its make-up. Due to this difference, an extra step by the body is required to convert folic acid into folate as shown by step 1. This step is slow and only so much folic acid can be converted at once, 266 micrgorams to be exact. 

         The rest of the folic acid is released into the bloodstream as unmetabolized folic acid. So what’s the big deal? Does it matter if you have excess folic acid in your blood. The answer is yes. Unmetabolized folic acid has been shown to promote certain cancers and to decrease the amount of natural killer cells in the body, which are cells that help protect against cancers and viruses. 

          Instead of taking folic acid supplements, try eating it naturally instead. Folate rich foods include, lentils, romaine lettuce, spinach, broccoli, asparagus, and avocados. If you do need to take a supplement, make sure that supplement includes folate or methylfolate and not folic acid. Your body won’t have to do as much work and you won’t have to risk the unhealthy side effects of unmetabolized folic acid!