Tag Archive for: sugar

The Last Word on Sugar

/in /by

The sugar war continues in the health headlines these last few days of 2016. Here’s a summary of what was said and my opinion.

Researchers reviewed the science behind the nutritional guidelines that fewer than 10% of calories should come from sugar (1), a position held by the World Health Organization and the USDA. After examining the science behind those guidelines, they concluded that the guidelines are not trustworthy.

Experts responded by calling what the researchers did junk science (2). The researchers were funded by a group composed of soda, candy, and fast-food companies. The experts said that . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.

The Answer to the Sugar Conundrum

/in /by

Whether you have prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, or are just concerned about the calories in the sugary treats this holiday season, what should you do? Go without and feel deprived, or indulge and pay some sort of price? Let’s take a look by beginning with a few questions.

Why do you want to reduce your sugar intake? Do you want to reduce your caloric intake? Is it because you know you have prediabetes or type 2 diabetes? Are you concerned about gaining weight over the holiday season? Once you know why you want to avoid sugar, you can start . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.

Sugar Alternatives

/in /by

Dealing with our sweet tooth this week, let’s look at sugar alternatives that may give us better choices if we don’t want to use artificial sweeteners.

Sugar alcohols are one alternative; xylitol, sorbitol, and other sugar alcohols are often used in candies and other treats. They can be a reasonable alternative to regular sugar, but there are a few things you need to know. First, they have a pronounced aftertaste; it feels like a cool sensation. Second, they’re not calorie free but . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.

The Sugar Conundrum

/in /by

During the holiday season, there are plenty of sugary snacks available. Candy, cookies, pies, all kinds of treats. But can something as simple as jam on toast, let alone the holiday treats, be an issue for someone with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes? With close to half of all adults afflicted with one condition or the other, any kind of sugar stops them in their tracks. I see people reading labels carefully in the grocery store and often hear the words “No good. It has sugar!” In the prediabetes and diabetes groups I . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.

The Bottom Line on a Low-Fat Diet

/in /by

In this final look at the opinion article in JAMA, I’m going to cover another statement the author made along with some thoughts on the article and why it matters.

In the article, he suggests that, based on the theory that carbohydrates do not cause weight gain, public health policy was changed to encourage the use of more starch and sugars (1). Specifically he cited Healthy People 2000 Nutrition Goal 2.15, which recommended that food manufacturers “increase to at least 5,000 brand items the availability of processed food products that are reduced in fat and saturated fat . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.

As Much Sugar As You Want!

/in /by

Continuing the topic from Tuesday’s message, I’m going take a look at one specific statement that the author made in his article in JAMA (1). I chose it because he specifically stated it was used to justify the increase in carbohydrate recommendations in public health policy. I also had never heard of it before—and I’ve been around awhile. The inner quote was taken from an article written in 2001 (2) that was used as a reference in . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.

Is Sugar the Problem?

/in /by

The questions I left you with on Thursday were related to the press and scientific reaction to the article about the sugar industry published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Was it worth all the press on CNN, Time, and even Treehugger.com? I don’t see it that way and I’ll explain why.


The Article

The paper in JAMA was not a study (1); it was a review of correspondence and papers published in the 1950s and 1960s. It was more investigative journalism than science . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.

Sugar: New Villain?

/in /by

Health by headlines continues, this time, from one of the Journals of the American Medical Association. The headlines revolved around how the sugar industry influenced research and scientific publications in the 1950s through the 1980s. A group of researchers, affiliated with the Philip Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, examined documents from the Sugar Research Foundation and correspondence between scientists who examined research on the role fat and sugar play in the development of cardiovascular disease. The scientists involved have all died; this was an examination of their papers archived in the universities where they spent their careers as well . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.

Improvements in the Nutrition Facts Labels

/in /by

The new nutrition facts labels are out and as promised, I’m going to tell you what I think is important about them. Let’s get right to it.

  • The listing of calories per serving is large enough that you can actually read it without searching for it. This is the biggest positive change; I had problems finding it at times and now, it’s the biggest type on the label.
  • The serving size is clearly identifiable. This should eliminate the misdirection food manufacturers used to use to suggest that a half . . .

    We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

    If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.

The Bottom Line on the Latest Sucralose Study

/in /by

“Sucralose causes cancer.”

“Sucralose prevents cancer.”

You’ve got to be confused when you read those recent headlines about the same research study! You read or listen to my messages because you want to know what I dig out of the original research to get past the confusion. Well, let’s get to it.

 

The Data

The data were messy (1). When you look at the numbers in the table that reported the incidences of cancers, the patterns were not clear. Using the data on the male mice, the incidence of cancers went . . .

We're sorry, but this content is available to Members and Insiders only.

If you're already a DrChet.com Member or Insider, click on the Membership Login link on the top menu. Members may upgrade to Insider by going to the Store and clicking Membership; your membership fee will be prorated automatically.