LONDON (AP) -- People should get no more than 10 percent of their calories from sugar, experts say in a major new report Monday on how to stem the global epidemic of obesity-linked diseases.
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March 4, 2003
By Mary Pickett, M.D.
Harvard Medical School
How does this article relate to me?
The world experts have weighed in: They say that sugar should be less than 10 percent of a healthy diet. That just about rounds it out for us — we have heard that our diet should be low fat, and we know it should be low cholesterol. Certainly it should be low salt. At least we know that fiber and our green stuff can stay. Given what we have learned about health and diet, it is a wonder that the brontosaurus became extinct.
Before we lose our hope or appetite, we should examine the rest of this group's recommendations. While expert nutritionists reporting for the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization have put limits on sugar, they have not embraced the idea of a "low-carb" diet. These experts agree with other leaders in the nutrition field, that a healthy diet should continue to emphasize carbohydrates as a staple food. In fact, they specify that 55 to 75 percent of the calorie intake should ideally be in carbohydrate form. However, the carbohydrates that are most healthful for you are whole-grain carbohydrates, not refined starches or sugars. So it is the whole grain carbohydrates that get approval by this group.
Why are refined sugars getting so much attention? There is a growing realization that rapidly digested sugars (in other words, highly processed sugars) can impact your metabolism with more than their calorie content. Rapidly digested sugars create a surge of glucose (the form that is taken by sugar in the bloodstream). The body adjusts to the load of glucose by making more insulin, but it cannot adjust back so quickly. When a sugar surge wears off, the extra insulin in the body stirs up your hunger instinct, which leads to snacking. The insulin balance probably contributes to obesity in other ways, too, by affecting the way that the body's metabolism works.
What changes do I need to make?
The main eating advice from nutritionists today is to choose the right carbohydrates and the most healthful fats. If you can design your diet around a few important principles, you will decrease your risk for obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
- Emphasize whole-grain carbohydrates such as whole wheat, oats, brown rice, barley or other grains.
- Cook with monounsaturated oils (such as olive oil or canola oil) and when using vegetable or nut oils, choose the liquid (non-hydrogenated) forms.
- Avoid fats that are solid at room temperature. This includes hydrogenated and partially-hydrogenated vegetable oils, as are found in some margarine spreads and in many packaged bakery and snack products. Hydrogenated oils are also used to prepare most deep-fried fast food. Hydrogenated oils contain trans-fats, which can cause cancer. They also raise cholesterol dramatically.
- Avoid animal fats (saturated fats.)
- Increase the amount of fish that you consume, unless you are pregnant. Pregnant women need to avoid certain predatory fish (including tuna) in order to limit mercury consumption.
- Limit refined sugars in your diet, and limit white bread, white rice and pasta that is not made with whole grain flour.
- Eat abundant fruits and vegetables.
- Eat fewer calories than you burn with exercise. These experts recommend a full hour of exercise daily.
What can I expect in the future?
The recommendations of the WHO and Food and Agriculture Organization have already met with resistance from several food production industry groups. As we increase our awareness of our nutritional needs, adjustments will need to be made by processed snack manufacturers. However, commercial food industry leaders should think before they fight these changes, since they are, after all, putting their money where their mouths are.
Related Areas:
The Healthy Eating Pyramid
Guide to Nutrition And Weight Management
