Family and Consumer Sciences

Live Smart Ohio

Ohio State University Extension

sugar

Simple Sugars Aren’t So Simple to Track

Now that jelly bean and chocolate bunny season has passed, you may be getting serious about cutting back on sugar.  Added sugars are often referred to as “empty calories” because they pack on calories without providing essential nutrients. The sucrose we commonly consume as “granulated sugar” or “white sugar” is referred to as a “simple” […]

WRITTEN BY: Carol Smathers, MS, MPH

REVIEWED BY: Jenny Lobb, MPH, RD, LD

PHOTO CREDITS:

  • Carol Smathers

SOURCES:

  • Sugar Stacks (2014). Beverages. http://www.sugarstacks.com/beverages.htm
  • Starbucks (2011). Nutrition by the Cup. https://news.starbucks.com/uploads/documents/nutrition.pdf
  • The Huffington Post (2014). Yogurts with More Sugar than a Twinkie. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/26/yogurt-sugar-twinkie_n_5379590.html

REFERENCES:

  • 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Chapter 1: Key Elements of Healthy Eating Patterns. http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/chapter-1/a-closer-look-inside-healthy-eating-patterns/
  • Department of Health and Human Services. A Healthier You. Chapter 8: Fats, Added Sugars and Salt. http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/healthieryou/html/chapter8.html
  • SugarScience. Hidden in Plain Sight. http://www.sugarscience.org/hidden-in-plain-sight/#.Vvk05_krLRZ

Too much sugar or too little exercise?

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are the single largest source of added sugar and the top source of calories in the U.S. diet. Nutrition researchers believe that drinking sugary beverages is linked with obesity and related diseases, like diabetes, and that SSB consumption must be decreased to reduce obesity rates.  Findings from large research studies have consistently […]

WRITTEN BY: Carol Smathers, MS, MPH, Field Specialist in Youth Nutrition and Wellness, Ohio State University Extension

REVIEWED BY: Jenny Lobb, MPH, RD, LD, Research Associate, Ohio State University Extension

SOURCES:

  • 4-H Eat and Move-O-Matic: http://www.4-h.org/youth-development-programs/kids-health/programming-resources/health-nutrition-fitness/youth-voice/eat-move-o-matic/.
  • Strategies for Successful Health, an Ohioline fact sheet: http://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/SS-125.

REFERENCES:

  • Filipic, M. (2016, January 29). Exercise Important, but Calories Count More. Chowline, Ohio State University Extension. http://cfaes.osu.edu/news/articles/chow-line-exercise-important-calories-count-more.
  • Harvard School of Public Health (2012). Factsheet: Sugary Drink Supersizing and the Obesity Epidemic. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/sugary-drinks-fact-sheet/.
  • Strom, S. (2015, August 20). Coca-Cola to Disclose Its Spending on Research Into Soft Drinks and Health. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/21/business/coca-cola-to-disclose-its-spending-on-research-into-soft-drinks-and-health.html?_r=1.
  • World Health Organization (2015, March 4). WHO calls on countries to reduce sugars intake among adults and children. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/sugar-guideline/en/.

Born to Crave: Origins of the Sweet Tooth

We all know it is nearly impossible to tear a child away from something sweet. Sugary foods and drinks can be a foolproof go to for any frazzled parent who needs their toddler to sit still. But have you ever wondered why children have this insatiable desire for all things sweet? Well, simply put, blame […]

REVIEWED BY: Amy Habig, MPH, RDN, LD, Program Specialist, Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, Ohio State University Extension, habig.13@osu.edu

PHOTO CREDITS:

  • http://pixabay.com/en/cotton-candy-coneheads-white-heads-434810/
  • http://pixabay.com/en/lump-sugar-sugar-cubes-white-sweet-549096/
  • http://pixabay.com/en/children-playing-watermelon-summer-655542/
  • http://pixabay.com/en/pick-and-mix-children-s-sweets-candy-171342/

SOURCES:

  • http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1364537/pdf/nihms7936.pdf
  • http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20829174
  • http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/25318/title/Endocrine-role-for-skeleton/
  • http://journals.lww.com/co-clinicalnutrition/Abstract/2011/07000/Innate_and_learned_preferences_for_sweet_taste.12.aspx

REFERENCES:

  • Mokhnach L., et al. (2010). NICU Procedures are Getting Sweeter: Development of a sucrose protocol for neonatal procedural pain. Neonatal Network, 29(5), 271-279.
  • Pepino, M. Y., & Mennella, J. A. (2005). Sucrose-Induced Analgesia is related to Sweet Preferences in Children but not Adults. Pain, 119(1-3), 210–218. doi:10.1016/j.pain.2005.09.029
  • Ventura, A.K., & Menella, J.A. (2011). Innate and Learned Preferences for Sweet Taste during Childhood. Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care, 14(4), 379-384.

Sugar Math

How much sugar is too much? Added sugars, or those sugars added to prepared and processed foods, should only make up about 10% of an individual’s total calories per day. In fact, consuming less than 5% of your total calories from added sugars seems to provide additional health benefits, according to guidelines from the World […]

WRITTEN BY: Carol Smathers, MS, MPH Field Specialist Ohio State University Extension smathers.14@osu.edu

REVIEWED BY: Bridgette Kidd, MPH, RD Program Specialist, Healthy People Ohio State University Extension

Sugar and hyperactivity

Give a child a giant pixie stick and what happens?  Many people would say, watch out!  Refined (processed/added) sugars may have some effect on children’s activity, according to the National Institutes of Health. Refined sugars enter the bloodstream quickly, so they produce rapid fluctuations in blood glucose levels.  This might trigger adrenaline and make a child more […]

Finding “Added” Sugars in Food

The nutrition science has pointed to added sugar in the diet as a problem for a long time (linking it to high cholesterol, high triglycerides, high blood pressure, and obesity), but until yesterday, there was no set amount that was recommended.  How much is too much?  2 cookies or 5 cookies a day?  2 can of […]

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