Update 11/12/2015 – FDA has recently updated their recommendations for sugar, click here to read, and at the G20 meeting, diabetes experts pushed global leaders for a tax on sugar to save lives, click here to read NYTimes article.
Do children miss anything by having limited sweet choices? I think the obvious answer is no, but so many parents go through the emotional rollercoaster of dealing with forced denial and children go through what should be an easy indulgence that has to be denied. I thought the development of taste buds might be a great thought starter for how everyone should look at food choices.
In utero, babies develop their sense of taste at 21 weeks, and baby learns about flavors through the amniotic fluid that flows in to nourish them and to teach them to swallow.
From day to day, the amniotic fluid differs in taste depending on what mom is eating. If mom eats a wide variety of flavors, then baby has a better chance to develop a wide palate for different foods. Chances are you can offer your child a great head start to loving asparagus if you eat it while you are pregnant.
But what about developing a taste for sweets? When amniotic fluid builds up, moms are injected with a sweet substance to get babies to drink more of the amniotic fluid. In truth, babies prefer sweet tastes, and in some cases sweetness eases pain through a natural analgesic effect in the body. So a desire for sweet is something we learn before we breathe air.
But sugar has an addictive quality. In April, 2012, Dr. Sanjay Gupta did an interview with Dr. Robert Lustig on 60 Minutes called Is Sugar Toxic? (A must watch!)
A study out of University of California gave evidence that increased sugar in the diet showed an exponential increase in LDL and other measures for heart disease. According to Dr. Lustig, a pediatric endo and expert on the subject, this new evidence is alarm for concern. Dr. Lewis Cantley, the head of Beth Israel Deaconess Cancer Center, also sees the “sugar concern” for cancer patients because sugar increases insulin, which can be a catalyst to certain types of cancer.
The average American eats roughly 130 lbs of sugar a year, which breaks down to about 1/3 of a pound per day. If sugar is risky to our health, then what are the AHA guidelines on sugar?
Last October, the AHA finally offered guidelines. Added sugar should be no more that half of your discretionary calories per day. For the average American woman that means no more than 100 calories per day or 6 teaspoons. For men, it's 150 calories per day or about 9 teaspoons. “Added sugar” means sugar that is added to foods, like high fructose corn syrup and other refined sugars that are not naturally occurring sugar found in the food.
How much sugar do you consume? Every time I have a Starbucks grand mocha with whip at Starbucks, my discretionary sugar intake from that drink is 40 grams, or 160 calories. (Here’s a site to help figure out grams to calories) My mocha has already given me more than my day's allowance of discretionary sugar!
Taste is an important driver to enjoying eating, but it can be tempered and our tastes expanded more than we think. Variety is important and trying something multiple times in different recipes offers us the chance to find new choices and better health. Be creative and make it a fun food experiment!
