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STOP! Don't read anything below if you haven't taken my sugar quiz. Come on... don't spoil the fun! See how much you know or don't know about sugar. 7 quick questions! Then come back and see how you did. SPOILER! Below this super rad "shugah" chart you'll find the correct answers to the sugar quiz.
1. How many teaspoons of sugar a day does the average Amercian consume?
c. 22. That's almost half a cup!
2. How much sugar does the average American consume each week?
b. 2 to 3 lbs! Seriously, that's a lot. And did you know that in the early 19th century the average weekly consumption was 5 lbs in a YEAR??!! A Year! Not two weeks in today's standard. I can't even wrap my head around that one. Also, research shows that in the last 20 years American sugar consumption has risen from 26 to 135 lbs per person per year!!! It's a lot of sugar to swallow don't ya think? Shocked!? You should be. It's a crazy, and extremely alarming statistic.
3. What is considered a natural sugar?
e. b and c, honey and lactose. Lactose is found in milk, and there's also fructose, which is in fruit and natural sugars in vegetables.
4. What is considered a simple sugar?
e. c and d, fruit juice sweetener and dextrose. Simple sugars, aka "added sugars," provide very few vitamins and minerals... mainly calories, or "empty calories," that is. Added sugars are created from corn, beets, grapes, and sugar cane. Listed in the "ingredients" section on your food label, simple sugars can be identified as: corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, maltodextrins, granulated sugar, invert sugar, and concentrated fruit juice sweetener.
5. Why is high fructose corn syrup now in so many foods?
a. it's cheaper to make. You'll notice many processed foods these days are loaded with high fructose corn syrup instead of sugar cane. There is a lot of debate over whether one is better than the other. Any simple sugar in excess isn't good. That's my stand on the issue. But here's an interesting article on HFCS vs. sugar cane.
6. Are humans born with a sweet tooth?
a. yes. As human beings we are hardwired for an affinity to sweets. Ever hear of the brain chemical serotonin? When we consume sugar that "feel good" chemical is released. I know that's why I love sugar so much!
7. The American Heart Association has issued a recommendation for daily sugar intake. What is it?
c. 6 tsp for women, 10 tsp for men. And all that men have to do to meet their daily dose is drink a 12 ounce can of soda. That's 40 grams of sugar, which is 10 tsp! FYI,
1 gram equals 1/4 teaspoon of sugar.
How did you do? What do you think? I don't know about you, but I love sugar! This is the woman who as a kid would put several spoonfuls of table sugar on her cheerios for breakfast, eat a tablespoon or two of brown sugar for a "treat" at least once a day, sneak and consume two or three Little Debbie snacks at a time out of the food pantry (sorry mom!), eat all my Halloween candy the night of Halloween (sick kid! seriously!), and eat my whole box of "fundraiser" candy bars instead of actually selling them (of course, I had to babysit to make the money to pay for the entire box.) My favorite fantasy as a child was to buy a candy store and see how long it would take to eat everything in it. Am I scaring you??!!! Hahahaha!
When I was in college I didn't eat added sugar for a year! It was a great learning experience. In a later blog I will expand on what I learned about sugar that year. Nowadays, it's all about balance for me. I limit most added sugars in my food, but I'm not gonna lie....chocolate chip cookie dough is my achilles heel!!!
So we're all a work in progress, and there's always things we could do better. I challenge you to take the knowledge you learned today, make some changes (however small) and see how you feel next week. I promise you'll notice a physical, emotional, and mental difference. Life will be a little sweeter... just without all the sweets!
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