Cutting Back on Added Sugars
by Shereen Jegtvig
This week the American Heart Association released new guidelines on how much added sugar is acceptable in a healthy diet. Added sugars include sweeteners such as table sugar, honey and high fructose corn syrup that are either added during the production of foods or at the table. In general, the guidelines suggest no more than about 150 calories per day (based on your daily calorie need) come from added sugar. That’s approximately the same as 6 teaspoons of table sugar.
This may be less than many Americans are consuming each day. In fact, one 12 ounce can of soda might exceed your limit – and just imagine how much sugar is in a giant super-sized soda. It’s important to watch your sugar intake because eating too much sugar can easily cause you to take in more calories than you are able to burn each day. That leads to being overweight, then obese and increases your chances of having high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Another consideration is that added sugar really has no additional nutritional benefit – nothing but simple carbohydrate calories that are easy to absorb and your body has no trouble converting the extra energy to fat. Read more
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Are Flavored Waters the Same as Soft Drinks?
by Shereen Jegtvig
When I walk through the beverage aisle at the grocery store, it looks like about one-quarter of the shelf space is devoted to bottles of water. Quite a change from when I was a kid. Back then there were a few gallon jugs of distilled water, and the only reason my mom bought those was for use in the iron – we didn’t drink it.
Getting enough fluids every day is important and the bottled-water industry has done a great job pushing their products. They’re convenient, possibly better than some tap water, but they still taste like water and not everyone likes the taste of water. So between the bottles of water and soda, you’ll see several brands of flavored water. If water is good for you flavored water must be good too. But isn’t that the same as a soft drink? Read more
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Fighting Cancer With Green Tea
We’ve all seen the ads. We’ve all been exposed to the marketing (mumbo jumbo), and by now we should all know of the many health benefits of drinking green tea. But did we know that it could slow the development and onset of prostate cancer? According to a study published in the journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, men with prostate cancer who consumed the active compounds in green tea demonstrated a significant reduction in serum markers associated with the progression of prostate cancer.
So considering green tea is the world’s second most popular drink (any guesses as to what drink is the most popular?), this is good news right? Well…yes and no. Read more
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Sweet Substitutes: The Alternatives To Sugar
Sugar. It’s sweet, tasty, and everywhere. It occurs naturally in many foods, and is often added to processed foods, in a variety of forms. Unfortunately, too much sugar can contribute to many health problems: tooth decay, obesity, and related medical conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. Artificial sugar substitutes are often added to foods to replicate the sweetness of sugar, without the added energy or calories. Most are suitable for people with diabetes or hypoglycemia, and are usually much friendlier to your teeth.
However, artificial sweeteners have been the subject of much controversy. Some people claim they have experienced negative health effects after consuming sweeteners, while others question the political motives behind the approval process and labeling protocols for each additive. Many dietitians recommend you avoid some artificial sweeteners, or that you avoid large amounts of sugar substitutes at any one time. (Larsen – Ask the dietitian, 2009)
Before you can decide which additives you want to consume or avoid, you need to know some basic facts about each sugar substitute. Read more
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Sweeteners Exposed: Acesulfame Potassium
Ingredient Name: Acesulfame potassium
E-number: E-950
Alternative Names: Acesulfame K, Ace-K, ACK, Sweetener (950), market names (e.g. Sunett, Sweet One)
Use in Food: Acesulfame potassium is one of the five FDA-approved calorie-free artificial sweeteners currently used in the US. As it is around 180-200 times sweeter than sucrose (common sugar), very small amounts of the additive produce the desired sweetness in a variety of foods. Unlike other artificial sweeteners (such as aspartame) acesulfame potassium is stable at high temperatures and pH levels, enabling its use in baked goods. It also increases the sweetness shelf life of many products (IFIC Foundation, 2009). Read more
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Sweeteners Exposed: Aspartame
Alternative names: E-951, APM, sweetener (951), market names (e.g. Equal, NutraSweet, Canderel).
Use in food: Aspartame is an artificial sweetener, often used to replace sugar in food and drinks. About 180 times sweeter than sugar, aspartame only needs to be added in very small amounts to obtain desired sweetness. Its taste is only similar to the sweetness of sugar, and is often blended with other sweeteners (e.g. acesulfame potassium or saccharin) to achieve a more “sugar-y” taste.
As it is non-carbohydrate based and only used in very small amounts, aspartame contributes very few calories to food, and is mainly used in “diet” products. These include many carbonated soda drinks (diet and non-diet), ice cream, yogurts, cereals, chewing gum/ breath mints, ice teas, juices, instant milk drinks, confectionery, pharmaceutical drugs, vitamin supplements and as tabletop sweeteners for tea and coffee. (Aspartame information centre, 2006) Read more
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Food Tip: Avoiding Added Sweeteners
by Shereen Jegtvig
There are a couple of reasons why you might want to watch your refined sugar intake. For one, refined sugars like table sugar, dextrose, or high fructose corn syrup don’t add any beneficial vitamins or minerals, just simple carbohydrates. Although your body needs carbohydrates to function properly, eating foods with extra added sugar and quickly add too many calories that your body will easily store as fat.
Some foods are naturally higher in sugar, like fruits. But fruits are good for you because they also contain fiber and lots of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. The real enemy is added sugars and sweeteners that you find in sodas, snacks, and even processed foods. Read more
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The Best Decaffeinated Iced Teas
by Shereen Jegtvig for foodessentials
Iced tea makes a terrific warm-weather beverage, but if you’re sensitive to caffeine, you may not want the extra jitters that come with it. There are many decaffeinated iced tea products that will quench your thirst without the caffeine. But what other things do they contain? Read more
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The Best Gluten-Free Asian Salad Dressings
by Shereen Jegtvig for foodessentials
An Asian dressing is a tasty way to top a healthy salad. There are so many possible flavors — sesame, sweet and sour, and ginger dressings are all distinctly different and delicious. Adding flavor to your diet is important, especially if you have to follow a strict diet to eliminate gluten, which seems to be everywhere. Read more
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The Best Pomegranate Juice
by Shereen Jegtvig for Foodessentials.
Pomegranate juice is considered by many people to be a superfood because it is rich in natural compounds that can improve your health. These compounds called polyphenols and anthocyanins help to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, some forms of cancer and may help reduce the pain of arthritis. Read more
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