There are evils lurking everywhere, waiting to attack when you least expect it. Transfats, fatty acids, chemical additives, fructose, sodium, red dye, sugar.
Yes, sugar.
Sugar has long been blamed for obesity, as well as diabetes, but until the American Heart Association published its guidelines in September 2009, no one had really given us solid information about how much sugar is too much. There were no RDAs (recommended daily allowance) for sugar, because our bodies have no need for it at all. We’d be just fine if we never ingested sugar in any form.
But now, thanks to the AHA, we know how much is too much, and the news is not good.
One teaspoon of sugar equals 16 grams. The American Heart Association says no more than 25 grams of added sugar a day for women and 37.5 grams for men.
But, according to a recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, most of us are regularly, and for the most part unknowingly, taking in an average of 88 or more grams a day. Oops; that’s a lot of sweet.
One 12-ounce can of Coke (39 grams of sugar) and you’re over the limit, male or female.
Activia yogurt, touted as beneficial because of its probiotics, is loaded with sugar, as are many flavored yogurts. Plain yogurt has perhaps 12 grams of natural sugar; flavored yogurt can have as much as 35 grams. In other words, a small container of “healthy” yogurt may have you in sugar overload for the rest of the day.
The plain fact is, sugar is in most of the foods we eat every day. It’s used to maintain color, add texture and flavor, and it often comes in disguise.
Cane juice, corn syrup, sucrose, maltose, dextrose, lactose are all other names for sugar. Sugar is added to bread to aid proper rising; it’s in crackers and bagels to smooth out flavor; it’s added to many cereals and granolas to add taste and lower water content to increase shelf life; it’s in peanut butter to enhance emulsion.
If you carefully read ingredients, which can be depressing, you’ll almost certainly find sugar in almost everything you eat.
Of course, not all sugar is evil. Every time you eat a piece of fruit, you’re ingesting sugar in its most natural form, but eat that same fruit out of a can and the sugar content skyrockets.
Tomatoes, too, have about 5 grams of natural sugar for one tomato, but when you buy them canned or as sauce or paste, and the ingredient listing shows more than
5 grams of sugar, it has probably been added to improve flavor and balance acidity. Ketchup, for example, typically has 4 grams of added sugar, meaning over and above the natural tomato sugar amount, per tablespoon. Try not to think, at this point, about how much ketchup you typically eat with your hamburger and fries.
So, what to do about the sugar overload?
My answer comes with difficulty because I hate reading labels and scaring myself. But, it’s the only way to be sure you’re not overloading your body with something it needs very little of. If the packaged meal you’re buying, frozen or not, or the cereal you think is healthy because it’s called granola, or any other food item you hold in your hand, contemplating taking home with you, has more than
5 grams of sugar per serving, give it a second thought.
Unless it’s dark chocolate, of course. You do remember I told you about the flavenoids and antioxidants that make it a health food, right?
Personally, I make it a practice not to read the ingredient list of my chocolate bars. There are, after all, some things that are best left alone, no matter what the American Heart Association says.
RECIPES
There are many cookbooks available with no-sugar, low-sugar and sugarsubstitute recipes, primarily aimed at the ever growing numbers of people living with diabetes. There are also many Web sites online for anyone looking for ways to cut down on sugar, or get rid of it entirely. Just type “sugar free recipes” into your search engine, and you’ll find more than enough.
The first recipe I’m passing along today is one given to me years ago by a diabetic friend who knows how much I love cheesecake; she wanted me to be able to make her one when she visited.
I don’t know where she got hers originally, but I found a very similar one on line.
SUGAR FREE CHEESECAKE
For the crust: 1 cup finely ground almonds or pecans, or sugar-free graham crackers or meal
2 T. melted butter
2 T. sugar equivalent sweetener (such as Splenda)
For the filling: 3 pkgs.
(8 oz.) cream cheese (you can use low-fat for half of this, but the cake will be “looser”)
4 eggs, at room temp.
1½ t. vanilla
1½ t. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/3 cups sugar equivalent artificial sweetener
¼ cup sour cream
Mix together crust ingredients; press onto the bottom of a springform pan. Bake crust in a preheated 375-degree oven for 8-10 min., or until golden. Remove from oven and turn oven down to 350 degrees.
Beat the cream cheese until fluffy, then begin adding remaining ingredients one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl and be sure each is fully incorporated. After all ingredients are added, beat mixture
1 more min., then pour into the crust. Wrap pan with foil (bottom and sides) and put in a baking pan. Fill pan with boiling water to halfway up the side of the springform pan and bake for 1 hr. 15 min., or until cake is firm to touch but still slightly soft in the center, or to 155 degrees on a thermometer. Remove from oven, allow to cool, then run a knife around the side of the pan and remove sides. Refrigerate cheesecake until ready to serve, with perhaps a berry topping.
BERRY TOPPING FOR CHEESECAKE
2-3 cups fresh berries; if using strawberries, slice them first
For each cup of berries, use 1 packet of sugar equivalent artificial sweetener (such as Splenda)
1 T. sugar free berry jam (strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, etc.)
Mix together berries, sweetener and jam. Use to top cheesecake or any other dessert. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
With more and more berries coming into season, this fresh fruit compote makes a delicious, refreshing dessert. It’s not totally sugar free, but most of the sugar comes naturally from the fruit; the wine has some sugar content. The cake recipe that follows is sweetened only by the natural sugars of the fresh fruit; it improves with age and will keep, tightly wrapped and refrigerated, for up to 10 days.
FRESH FRUIT COMPOTE
1 cup fresh blackberries or raspberries
1 cup peeled, sliced fresh peaches
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup fresh halved strawberries
1 cup watermelon balls
1 cup cantaloupe balls
1 cup seedless green grapes
1/2 cup chilled Asti Spumante or other sweet white wine, or use apple cider
2 T. thawed undiluted no-sugar added orange juice concentrate (which may be difficult to find), or 1 T. freshly squeezed orange juice
Combine the first 7 ingredients in a large bowl and toss gently to mix. Add wine and juice concentrate or juice and toss fruit gently to coat. Cover and chill. Serves 6.
FRESH FRUIT CAKE
1 T. butter
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped almonds
1 cup raisins
2 cups rolled oats
3 cups crushed fresh fruit pulp and juice (strawberries, ripe peaches, pineapple, rapsberries; all are good suggestions for this cake)
1 t. vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 lb. pitted dates
Mix all ingredients except the dates, to make a soft and slightly crumbly dough. Press into two lightly buttered, round 9-inch cake pans. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 40 to 50 min., until sides and bottom are golden brown. Let cool in pans for 10 min. then turn out onto racks for further cooling.
Put dates in a saucepan with water just to cover. Simmer for 10-15 min., or until soft. Mash into a paste with a hand masher or use a food processor or blender. Spread the date filling on one layer of the cake and put the other layer on top. Let cake stand at room temp. for a couple of hours before serving. Serves 12-14.
