sugar

Being a busy mom, I find that mornings are especially chaotic and not friendly to a leisurely, home-cooked breakfast. Not only that, my kids’ favorite breakfasts involve foods that are high in fat and calories and not healthy choices. One of the best breakfast options out there is cereal. So many cereals on the shelf are full of sugar, high fructose corn syrup, artificial colorings and lacking in protein – but appealing to kids, thanks to colorful pictures, candy-like flavors and cartoon characters. It’s hard to find a cereal that pleases both children and parents, but it is possible. Here are some guidelines that I try to follow when I’m shopping for cereal. (Psst – I never bring the kids.)

1. Keep the sugar low - I remember when I was a child my mom always told me never to buy cereal with a sugar count over the magic number of “10.” Ten grams of sugar means that the box is 10% sugar, and that’s high enough for it to still be tasty.
   

“How much protein should I eat?” Have you found yourself asking this question? Well, the recommended daily value for protein is 50 grams. For those of us that exercise and push the body to the extreme, we need a few more grams per day. If you are exercising at a moderate to high intensity level, I recommend consuming 0.8 grams of protein for every pound of your body weight.

For example: if you weigh 150 pounds, then you should be consuming 150 x 0.8, which is 120 grams of protein per day. Be careful and don’t over-do it though; protein is broken down into amino acids and excess amino acids are converted to fats and sugars and then stored in the body. Below are a few examples of the best sources of protein!

The American Heart Association recently released recommendations for added sugars – and they say “slash slash slash” it way down. According to their position paper, the usual intake of added sugars for Americans was 22.2 teaspoons per day (355 calories per day) in 2001-2004. American Heart Association would like to see American women consume no more than 100 calories per day and men no more than 150 calories per day from added sugars. Why? Excessive consumption of sugars has been linked with several metabolic abnormalities and adverse health conditions, as well as shortfalls of essential nutrients.

Translation: Basically, Americans are overdrawing the “calorie funds” in their “discretionary calories” bank account. Discretionary calories are what’s left over in the budget AFTER you have prioritized healthy, nourishing foods to meet nutrient needs (the ole fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans). While your bank would charge you an overdraft fee, unfortunately your body can’t do that.

Sugar consumption is a major cause of premature health problems in the U.S. Americans ingest more than 22 teaspoons of added sugar (355 calories) every day, according to the 2001-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. That’s two to three times what is recommended.

The American Heart Association has publicized their recommendations for men and women. The AHA says that most American women should not consume more than 100 calories of added sugar a day. Men should limit their intake to no more than 150 calories. One 12-ounce can of sugar-sweetened soda is 130 calories. That’s more than the entire daily recommendation for women, and nearly all that is recommended for men.

I have found in my private nutrition practice that people misunderstand sugar. Dietitians are most concerned with helping you limit “added sugars.” This is sugar that food manufacturers add to products to make them sweeter. The problem is that added sugars are not listed separate from naturally occurring sugars on the food label so you have to play detective and find the “sugar sources” on the ingredients list.

Watch my video on sugar in foods to help set the record straight on what you should look for.