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Man Sheds 80 Pounds Eating McDonald’s
By
Medstar
Published: Thu, January 03, 2008 - 11:09 am
Last Updated: Thu, January 03, 2008 - 4:31 pm
Last Updated: Thu, January 03, 2008 - 4:31 pm
U-S. About two thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese. Experts say the average person consumes about three pounds of sugar a week, but most people don't realize where that sugar is coming from.
"People don't usually say that they buy that much sugar, take that much sugar home from the store every week. It's hidden in our foods, by and large."
We asked a nutritionist to show us how sugar can disguise itself on food labels.
"In ketchup, a food that doesn't even taste sweet, the second ingredient is high fructose corn syrup - sugar."
Other names to watch out for include sucrose, glucose,
dextrose, maltose and lactose. You'll see many of those names on the side of a cereal box, especially those that appeal to children. The key is to compare the carbohydrate and sugar content.
"If the grams of sugar about equals half or more of the total carbohydrate, then it's a high sugar cereal."
The revised food pyramid says we should have at least two cups of fruit a day. But nutritionists warn canned fruit may not be your best bet.
"The one that's in its natural juice has less sugar, if you turn it over and compare the sugars, you have 10 grams in natural juice compared to 19 grams in heavy syrup."
For more than a decade, the government's required food labels on all packaged foods.
"You have to take the responsibility and read labels, become educated."
The information is there. It's a matter of making the right choices.
Depending on the size of the person, the guidelines for sugar intake is between 30 and 70 grams a day. The average can of soda has about 48 grams of sugar.
Fast Facts:
Americans eat about 158 pounds of sugar a year.
Health experts recommend that no more than 25 percent of our total daily calories come from sugar.
Cutting back on sugar can be difficult. There are many hidden sources of sugar in our foods.
Consumers need to learn to read food labels and look for other forms of sugar in the ingredients list.
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Hi,
HFCS has invaded our food supply. Courtesy of the Corn Refiners Assoc., go to http://www.corn.org/NSFC2006.pdf Pages 29-30 list all the foods and products that contain HFCS. Some surprises: bagels,
soups, cough syrups. StopHFCS.com lists foods that are HFCS-free.
They welcome additions and suggestions.