Sugar Is the Diabetes Problem

If you have someone that is constantly reminding you not to eat sugar, then tell him or her that they are also eating a lot of sugar. When they say they aren't, ask them if they are eating processed foods. If they claim that they are only eating real foods and raw foods, then ask if they are using salad dressings on their salads. If they say they only use olive oil and vinegar, then you may need to drop the topic.

Learn that sugar is not always bad and may be preferable to other sweeteners. When you read labels, always be on the look out for other sugars, particularly corn sugar, corn syrup, corn solids, and high fructose corn syrup. In addition, be on the lookout for hidden sugars. Many food manufacturers have added sugars that are not listed because they are below the amount requiring listing in the ingredients.

An alphabetical listing can be found here for the 56 names for sugar. I have this listed in my bookmarks because my wife and I had a long discussion about sugars recently. We needed to look up a few to better understand what they were and she even asked a nurse that she works with about a couple. Even she was not familiar with the name.

This listing is different than many I have seen and groups them by class of sugar. The discussion about the sugars is very interesting and they list common problems for many of the sugars. Again, I have this bookmarked and really enjoy reading it. This is something that I also refer to when reading the ingredient list and labels of foods that occasionally purchased.

If you are interested in finding listings of the different sugars, search on this - “names for other sugars” and bookmark your preferences.

Added sugar may be the single unhealthiest ingredient in the modern diet. On average, Americans eat about 15 teaspoons of added sugar each day, although sources vary on the exact figure.

Most of this is hidden within processed foods, so people don’t even realize they’re eating it. All this sugar may be a key factor in several major illnesses, including heart disease and diabetes.

Sugar goes by many different names, so it’s very difficult to figure out how much a food actually contains. During processing, sugar is added to food to enhance flavor, texture, shelf life or other properties.

Added sugar is usually a mixture of simple sugars such as glucose, fructose or sucrose. Other types, such as galactose, lactose and maltose, are less common.

Unfortunately, food manufacturers often hide the total amount of sugar by listing it under several different names on ingredient lists. Sugar is commonly added to processed foods. Manufactures often use several different kinds of sugar so they can hide the real amount.