Those healthy-sounding buzzword foods may be hiding added sugar

Many consumers are proud to avoid the glazed pastries in the supermarket and opt for “all natural” granola packed with extra protein. So are low-fat yogurts “made with real fruit,” “organic” plant-based milks and bottled “superfood” smoothies.

Buyer beware: Healthy grocery buzzwords often mask unhealthy sugar content.

Added sugar is difficult to spot quickly because many companies use clever marketing tactics to distract consumers, said Nicole Avena, a professor of neuroscience and psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Princeton University Who has researched added sugar.

Avina said that while some health-conscious brands know people are becoming aware of the dangers of added sugar, “a lot of the big brands aren’t too worried about people’s health.”

Here’s how to spot hidden sugar and what to do about it.

what to look for

In addition to saturated fat and salt, eating too much sugar has been linked to heart disease, obesity, diabetes and other health risks.

average American According to the American Heart Association, consuming 17 grams of added sugar per day adds up to 57 pounds (26 kilograms) per year. About half of that comes from beverages, but much of the rest is mixed into cereals, salsas, prepared sandwiches, dairy products, bottled sauces and baked goods, including many brands of whole-wheat bread.

To help control your sugar intake, start by checking the nutrition label. From 2021, food companies are required to list the amount of added sugar separately from the total sugar content. But Avina said the plan backfired.

The company has cut back on common sweeteners like refined beet sugar and high fructose corn syrup, but added alternatives like monk fruit and the sugar alcohol erythritol, which are not considered “added sugars.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations.

“Our food is sweeter now than it was in 2020,” Avena said.

What should you do?

Collin Popp, a nutritionist and professor at NYU Langone Health, said current FDA recommendations allow for some flexibility. people You should get no more than 10% of your calories from added sugars, which equates to about 50 grams per day if you eat 2,000 calories a day, or a little more than what’s in a typical can of soda.

But that may be too flexible, Pope said.

“I would actually like to see that below 5 percent, closer to zero for some people with diabetes or prediabetes,” he said.

The key, Pope says, is to pay attention to what you eat, even if the product looks healthy or has an organic label on the packaging. For example, roasted nuts, plant-based milks, and wasabi peas can contain surprising amounts of added sugar. English muffins and Greek yogurt would also work.

For example, a serving of Chobani Black Cherry Yogurt has zero fat but 9 grams of added sugar, or just over 2 teaspoons. Silk Brand Almond Milk has 7 grams per cup.

Pope recommends controlling the amount of sugar in your food. This might mean buying plain yogurt and adding honey or berries, or asking the barista if you can put your own oat milk in your coffee.

Get from one column and add to another column

Avina says that while artificial sweeteners like stevia and sugar alcohols can lower the caloric content of foods, they may not be any better because they encourage people to overeat. Research shows that sweetness is what activates the brain’s reward centers, not the sugar itself, she said.

This isn’t about giving up on sugar alternatives, including allulose for people with diabetes type 1 diabetes Because it does not affect blood sugar.

But for the general public, minimizing reliance on overall sweetness in foods is key to improving health, she said.

“Don’t let food companies dictate how much sugar you eat,” Avina said.

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Albert Stumm writes about food, travel, and health. Find his work at www.albertstumm.com.