Sugar Hype

 🍬Sugar-What's All the Hype about?🍬

What's the big deal about sugar?

The Average American consumes 77 grams of added sugar every day which is equivalent to 19 teaspoons! This is significantly greater than the American Heart Association's recommended limits as listed below.

Men: 36 grams or less (9 teaspoons)

Women & kids: 25 grams or less (6 teaspoons)

While most people associate eating too much sugar with obesity, did you know that excess sugar can lead to insulin resistance, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver, a weakened immune system and inflammation?

Where is all this sugar coming from in the American diet? 

These days sugar in various forms is added to all kinds of food products including bread, yogurt, cereal, condiments and especially beverages like pop, lemonade, energy and coffee drinks. Reducing sugar and focusing on whole unprocessed foods can significantly improve overall health.

Tips to Reduce Sugar intake:

1. Start with Reading the Nutrition Facts Labels. Under Carbohydrates ,it list the total grams of added sugar per serving. Keep this as close to 0 as possible. Next read the ingredients-avoid high-fructose corn syrup, cane sugar, dextrose and maltose

2. Replace sugary drinks with water, herbal tea or sparkling water. Choose whole fruit instead of fruit juice.

3. Cook at home as often as possible. That way you are in control of what is added to your foods. Choosing lean proteins, fresh fruits and vegetables instead of packaged and processed foods is the healthiest choice.

4. Be smart about sugar alternatives. Local honey and Pure maple syrup are better for you than refined sugars but they still add calories and increase blood sugar. Artificial sweeteners like Sucralose and aspartame can disrupt your gut microbiome. Sugar alcohols (sorbitol, erythritol, mannitol) are considered non-nutritive however they can cause digestive issues like bloating, gas and diarrhea for some people. The safest alternatives for a zero calorie sweetener is Stevia or Monk fruit which are both plant derived.

Sugar Saving Swaps
Instead of:	Choose:
Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce 2T	Stubbs Original BBQ Sauce 2T
70 calories, 16 g sugar	25 calories, 4 g sugar
Quaker Instant Oatmeal-apple cinnamon 1 packet	Better Oats Steel Cut Quick cooking  (instant)  1 packet
160 calories, 12 g sugar	130 calories, 0 g sugar
Lemonade 8 oz (1 cup)	LeCroix Lemon sparkling water 12 oz
100 calories, 25 g sugar	0 calories, 0 g sugar
Starbucks White Mocha 16 oz	Starbucks Nitro Cold Brew 16 oz
390 calories, 46 g sugar	5 calories, 0 g sugar
Raisin Bran Cereal 1 cup	Catalina Crunch Cinnamon 1 cup
185 calories, 18 g sugar	220 calories, 0 g sugar
Chobani Greek Yogurt Vanilla 5.3 oz	Oikos Zero Greek Vanilla Yogurt 5.3 oz
110 calories, 9 g sugar	90 calories, 0 g added sugar (5 g sugar from lactose)

Recipe of the Month:  Healthy Mug Cake

Ingredients: 

2 T almond flour (ok to sub all purpose)

2 tsp Stevia or Monk Fruit

2 tsp Cacao powder OR chocolate Collagen powder

1/16 tsp salt

1/8 tsp baking soda

1 tsp olive oil or avocado oil

1/8 tsp vanilla

2 T water

1-2 T dark choc chips (optional)

Instructions: Spray microwave safe mug or bowl with nonstick olive oil spray. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Add remaining ingredients and mix until blended. Fold in chips, if using. Microwave 1-2 minutes or until done. Let sit for 30 seconds. Enjoy!

Katie's Kitchen

Monk fruit is a safe sugar alternative however it can be hard to find without sugar alcohols added like erythritol. I like this one from Amazon as it does not contain any fillers or sugar alcohol. 

Buy here on Amazon

Stevia is another plant based sugar alternative that can be used in baking or coffee. Again, it is important to read the ingredient labels for other fillers or sugar alcohols that may be added. This product is 100% Stevia - nothing added!

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As noted in the mug cake recipe above, I like to swap out cocoa powder for chocolate collagen powder. It adds some protein (amino acids) while still giving a great chocolate boost! Here is a link to my favorite one at Amazon: 

Buy Here on Amazon

Please note as an Amazon Associate, I may earn commission from your qualifying purchases on Amazon.