How
do you like your coffee? Cream and sugar? Black? Or with a sugar substitute?
American
adults consume an average of 22 teaspoons a day, or about 355 calories, from
added sugars. Every teaspoon has 15 to 16 calories. Sugar is "toxic"
in the amount it's consumed by Americans, says pediatric endocrinologist Rob
Lustig, a professor of pediatrics at the University of California-San Francisco
and one of the country's most vocal critics of added sugars.
A
little bit is OK, but it's the quantity that people are consuming that's
harmful, Lustig says. "Everyone knows the dose determines the poison. I
agree with that. There is a threshold, and right now we are way above that
threshold."
The
heart association recommends that most American women consume no more than 6
teaspoons a day, about 100 calories, from added sugars, Johnson says. For men,
it's 9 teaspoons or about 150 calories. Kids should limit their intake to about
the same amount, she says.
The
long history of sugar is interwoven with that of trade, religion, colonialism,
capitalism, industry and technology. The people of New Guinea were probably the
first to domesticate sugarcane, sometime around 8,000 BC; solid sugar is not
mentioned in the historical record until AD 500, in India. Originally, people
chewed sugarcane raw to extract its sweetness. Indians discovered how to
crystallize sugar during the Gupta dynasty, around 350 AD
The
first sugar substitute, saccharin, was discovered in the late 1800s and gained
prominence in manufacturing during the World Wars, when sugar was rationed. The
business of sugar-free foods and drinks began to boom in the 1960s when
clinicians realized the importance of controlling weight gain in the management
of diabetes.
Since
then, as people became more health-conscious and wanted to shun sugar,
manufacturers responded with a host of sugar substitutes. They are:
Aspartame,
approved in 1981 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and now in more
than 6,000 foods and drinks
- Acesulfame-K, FDA-approved in 1988
- Sucralose (Splenda, SucraPlus), approved in 1998 for limited use and in 1999 for general use
- Neotame, approved in 2002
Now
we call them artificial sweeteners. How do they work? The basic idea of what
would make a good sugar substitute is simple.
On
the surface of the tongue, certain proteins act as detectors for specific
tastes. The sweetness receptor is made of two proteins in what is believed to
be a structure like a Venus’ flytrap. When a sugar molecule attaches to the
receptor, the receptor jogs neurons that send a signal to the brain that says
something sweet has just been tasted. An artificial sweetener is simply a
calorie-free substance that excites the same sweetness receptors.
The
pros and cons of sugar versus substitutes have been a popular topic for debate
over the years. The topic of sugar substitutes can be complex and confusing.
One problem is that the terminology regarding sugar substitutes is often open
to interpretation. For instance, some manufacturers call their sweeteners
"natural" even though they're processed or refined, as is the case
with stevia preparations. And some artificial sweeteners are derived from
naturally occurring substances — sucralose comes from sugar, for example.
Sometimes sugar substitutes are categorized by whether or not they contain
calories.
As
part of an overall healthy diet, sugar substitutes are believed to reduce
calories and the risk of cavities. Interestingly, controlled studies that
compare weight loss between people who use sugar substitutes and those who
consume sugar show very little difference in weight loss between the two
groups, although over the long term, sugar substitutes can help maintain weight
loss.
Sugar
is headed towards a new world of scrutiny and regulation. Some key trends in the
public and private sector topping news:
- Walt Disney announced that it's going to stop advertising junk food to kids on its TV channels, radio station and website by 2015
- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg outlined a plan to ban large-size sugary beverages sold at the city's restaurants, movie theaters, sports venues and street carts.
- Some states and cities are working on "soda taxes" on sugary drinks. And in recent years, major health groups have discouraged the consumption of large amounts of added sugars.
Increasingly,
the focus is being placed on sugar, the sweetener with a history that goes back
8,000 years. Is something so sweet really that harmful to health? Or is it just
being maligned as people look for a scapegoat for the obesity epidemic.
The American Heart Association says in
a statement that research has tied a high intake of added sugars to many poor
health conditions, including obesity, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and
other risk factors for heart disease and stroke.
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