Get Sugar-Smart

About author / Christine Gable

Culinary enthusiast; kids cuisine and slow cooking; magazine recipe developer; professional writer. Her simple recipes are great for family dinners.

Did you know that one regular soda contains 10 teaspoons of sugar? Plus (and this probably isn’t news to you), slurping sodas regularly will up your kids’ chances of obesity by 60 percent. Yikes.

But that’s not all—according to Debbie Roth, Director of Nutrition Within: “… Sugar consumption attacks your child’s immune system and leads to obesity, hypoglycemia, diabetes, and heart disease … Eating refined white flour products, sugary snacks, and other packaged or fried goods may contribute to attitude problems, depression and other mood disorders, and difficulties with your child’s attention span … ”

Now if that won’t scare you into buying fewer sugary treats, what will?

And sugar certainly is more than meets the eye. Did you know that sugar is known by many other names? Yes, if you look at the label and see evaporated cane juice, corn syrup, dextrose, ethyl maltol, high-fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin or turbinado, they are all one thing: sugar in one form or another. And if you head to the natural foods store, you’ll get a whole array of choices that branch out considerably from the granulated white, dark and light brown and confectioners’ sugar that are in the traditional baking aisle. Of course, don’t forget the artificial sweeteners that have a whole shelf of their own now too … but that’s another article altogether.

Sugar. It’s not all created equal. For example, some sweeteners have a lower glycemic index than others, which means they have a less dramatic effect on blood sugar levels than straight-up white sugar (you know, the contributor to that “mid-afternoon slump”). And get this: I learned that High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is a common sweetener used by manufacturers as a substitute for ordinary sugar (sucrose) in soft drinks and other foods. But here’s the kicker: HFCS in beverages has been reported to stimulate the appetite.

Yeah, what a wham-o. Who needs it?

Read the labels and you’ll note HFCS is in so many packaged products it's ridiculous. So what’s a mom to do?

Well in my book, one of the first lines of defense is knowledge. Even if it’s just a chat about the ingredients in a favorite cereal or why corn syrup is in spaghetti sauce (does anyone really know?!), it’s bound to get kids thinking about what they put in their bods—and that’s a step in the right direction.

Here’s a brief run-down of the types of sugars—thanks to thenibble.com’s glossary of sugar varieties: (Who knew there were so many?!)

The basic one that comes in 5-pound bags and is pure white is granulated sugar—aka table sugar or crystalline sucrose.

Now for some others:

Low Glycemic Index Sweeteners:

• Agave – hails from the sap of the maguave cactus
• Barley Malt Syrup or Barley Syrup – from soaked or sprouted barley
• Brown Rice Syrup – from whole grain rice
• Fructose or Fruit sugar – from fruit

High Glycemic Index Sweeteners:

• Beet Sugar
• Birch Syrup – Maple Syrup - Honey
• Brown Sugar
• Cane juice or cane sugar
• Confectioner’s sugar
• Corn syrup
• Date sugar
• Raw sugar, Demerara, Muscovado, and Turbinado
• Molasses
• Palm or Coconut Sugar
• Turbinado Sugar

While we certainly haven’t done the cold turkey thing on soda or sugar—yes, we still keep a canister on the counter—it’s also a rare day that you can’t find the pantry shelf in the basement lined with at least a couple cans of root beer, ginger ale or cola. But knowing what’s hidden inside that pop-tab can and behind the colorful label is just smart for both you and your kids. That way you can deliberately choose how much (when and IF), to imbibe.

It’s as simple as just talking and sharing and letting them know what you’ve learned, what you’ve noticed. And if you’re doing something smarter (like giving up that 3:00 pm cola), they’ll notice and might even surprise you with some requests. Like a special flavored water or trying a home-brewed herbal tea.

One of most successful beverage-wise things we’ve done is stock flavored seltzer (lemon-lime, orange, raspberry). It’s got the zip that soda does, minus all the un-wanteds. But mostly, we’ve just talked about it, and I’ve found that the kids really do care. They’ve told me that they feel better when they pay attention to what they eat and drink. So I think half the battle with getting kids to eat and drink better is not only to set a good example ourselves, but to just talk to them. But forget the lectures.

Open yourself to the possibilities and I bet you’ll all be surprised how you can all slash some sugar from your regular diet.

How have you found a good way to cut sugar from your day?