Kids and Sugar. How much is too much?

We all know, whether we like to admit it or not, that eating too much sugar isn't great for our waistlines.  And most of us know that people who eat too much of anything become obese...and people who are obese are at greater risk of developing diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and even cancer.   But is there a connection between eating too much sugar in particular and an increased incidence of disease in general?

The article, Is Sugar Toxic, was published yesterday in the NY Times Magazine.  It points out some compelling arguments to indicate that SUGAR (aka Sucrose, the natural substance made of the molecules Glucose and Fructose) and high fructose corn syrup may be making us seriously ill with chronic, deadly diseases, including cancer.  And Americans are eating more sugar now, roughly 70 pounds per person per year, than ever before.   In his extremely informative article, the author, Gary Taubes, thoroughly discusses the issue.  It's the metabolism of these two substances found in sugar, specifically fructose (see the full NY Times article or a macronutrient text book for a more detailed description) that's the issue, not the caloric load.  Both are absorbed into the blood from our intestines, but fructose is metabolised by the liver while glucose is metabolized by our cells (muscles etc) to be used for energy.  When we ingest large amounts of sugar at once (ie a Big Gulp of Coke or a huge piece of cake), the sugar load, specifically the fructose, overwhelms the liver where it converts the excess to fat and can, over just a short time, result in a fatty liver, insulin resistance (leading to excess insulin floating around), weight gain, dyslipidemia and inflammation.  These side effects of a sugar splurge could actually be the fruitful ingredients necessary for a cancer to thrive.  All together dreadful stuff, right?

So is swearing off sugar the answer to being healthy or can we still enjoy it in moderation?  And what is moderation?

As a nutritionist, I find that balance with a healthy mix of information is the best answer.  Here are the guidelines that I suggest:

1. READ LABELS:  Don't buy or eat packaged foods with more than 5 grams of sugar per ounce (roughly 28 grams).   As an example, I looked at some "healthier" packaged foods: Kashi Heart to Heart Cereal, Trader Joe's O's, Lundberg Brown Rice Cakes and Earth's Best, Healthy Times and Plum Tots baby snacks.  Much to my dismay, it is the BABY food snacks that have the most added sugar per gram!  Babies don't eat as much, but they're also a lot smaller...

2.  NEVER SAY NEVER:   An absolute restriction of anything often leads to an overwhelming desire for that exact thing.  I encourage people to follow a 90/10 rule.  If you're good 90% of the time, take 10% to enjoy that cupcake or piece of grandma's fresh apple pie...and don't lose sleep over it.

3.  Eat WHOLE food:  Not necessarily from Whole Foods, just real fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and lean proteins in the least packaged form possible.

4.  So what about FRUIT?  Fruit also has sugar, some more than others (berries tend to be lowest in sugar).  However, gram for gram, the sugar in berries is less than that in packaged foods with added sugars.  For example, an ounce of raspberries (1/4 cup) has 1 gram of sugar (and 15 calories) along with fiber, which slows the absorption of the sugar.   A leading brand of cookie has 8 grams of sugar per ounce and only 1 gram of fiber (and 120 calories).... Maybe this is like comparing apples to oranges, but you can hardly deny the comparison of sugar to sugar.

It's interesting to point out that there isn't much research underway on this topic.  Dr. Robert Lustig, MD, a leading obesity expert and the inspiration for this article, along with the leading biochemists in this field are actually planning a couple studies.  One will remove all sugar from pregnant women's diets except that found naturally in fruits and vegetables "to see if their babies are born healthier and leaner".  It seems that the experts in this field have made enough observations to develop an educated guess about what might happen....it will be interesting to see where the data take us!