(This is the first in a series of articles on the perils of added sugar. Be sure to check out the second article, “Fighting Sugar Cravings with Plant-Based Nutrition”).
Sugar is one of the hardest things for many people to give up on a plant-based diet. It’s the rare person who doesn’t have some sort of sweet tooth and a soft spot for cookies, cakes, candy, chocolate, frozen desserts, or soft drinks – a major culprit due to the sheer quantity of sugar they contain (e.g., 39 grams of sugar in one 12-ounce can of cola) and the fact that it’s easy to down the stuff in large quantities.
In fact, soft drinks are the source of 33 percent of the sugar consumed in the United States, the highest single food source, followed by added table sugar, baked goods, and, yes, fruit drinks. While they may be marketed as healthy, energy and sports drinks also often contain very large amounts of sugar.
But it’s not just sugary beverages that plant-based eaters should be concerned about. Added sugars are everywhere in our modern, Western diet – another reason to stick with whole, unprocessed foods. Many so-called healthy foods, such as flavored yogurt and breakfast cereals, contain significant amounts of sugar.
For instance, savory foods such as store-bought pasta sauce, soups, and bread are likely to have added sugar in amounts that may surprise you. Be sure to read food labels carefully when purchasing processed foods.
But whatever the form of sugar, and whatever you call it, sucrose, fructose, glucose, sugar, corn syrup, or the more benign-sounding “evaporated cane juice,” added sugar is just plain bad for your health and has no place in a plant-based diet.
You can’t turn on the news these days without hearing about the unprecedented epidemic levels of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and other sugar-related health issues plaguing not just adults but even, for the first time in history, children.
In the second part of this article, we’ll take a good, hard look at the science behind so-called natural sugars such as honey, agave, maple syrup, and brown rice syrup, among others, to see if they offer any health advantages over sugar and corn syrup. We’ll also look at the sugars contained in whole foods such as fruits and vegetables and how those affect our bodies differently than added sugars.
SUGAR ACTS LIKE A DRUG
So what’s going on? Why the crisis? Well, for one thing, scientists are discovering that sugar has drug-like, addictive effects on the body. While it may sound unbelievable, the National Institutes of Health reports findings that sugar is more addictive than cocaine! If you find that hard to believe, just read the following quotes excerpted from an NIH scientific report:
“At the neurobiological level, the neural substrates of sugar and sweet reward appear to be more robust than those of cocaine …”
“The biological robustness in the neural substrates of sugar and sweet reward may be sufficient to explain why many people can have difficulty controlling the consumption of foods high in sugar when continuously exposed to them.”
While in the 1700s, Americans consumed an average of two pounds of sugar per year, Americans today consume a whopping 60 pounds annually! Whether or not you were actually eating that much sugar prior to going whole foods plant-based, due to sugar’s highly addictive nature, you may find your willpower challenged when it comes to sugar – it’s not your imagination, and it’s not your fault – it’s biochemical.
And while it may be true that sugar is derived from plants – either sugar cane, sugar beets, or corn – in the case of corn syrup – these types of sugars are not whole foods, they are instead highly processed in food manufacturing facilities. Vegans may also want to know that the char of animal bones is often used to bleach and filter cane sugar.
SUGAR and Disease
The truth is that sugar can kill. It’s not just a high-caloric food with zero nutritional value, as if that weren’t bad enough. Science increasingly shows that excessive sugar consumption is one of the biggest culprits when it comes to heart disease, the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States.
For instance, a 15-year study published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association revealed that people who consumed 25 percent of their daily calories in the form of sugar were more than twice as likely to die from heart disease compared to those who consumed 10 percent or less of their calories from sugar. Overall, the odds of dying from heart disease paralleled the amount of sugar in one’s diet.
But as mentioned earlier, the increased risk of heart disease is hardly the only concern when it comes to added sugar. Cavities, weight gain, metabolic syndrome and diabetes, fatty liver disease, and other conditions are also concerns. While sugar may not be implicated as a direct cause of cancer, what sugar does to your waistline most certainly does put you at greater risk.
12 TIPS FOR AVOIDING ADDED SUGAR
It’s a lot to think about, but an awareness of the toxic effects of sugar on your body could prolong or even save your life. Next time you want to reach for some sugary dessert or soft drink, take a deep breath, pause, and consider the consequences.
- Don’t take that first bite or sip. Remember that because of sugar’s addictive properties, even a small amount can set you up for a binge. Know thyself.
- Don’t buy it! While it’s easy to be tempted while shopping, and marketers are highly skilled in making processed junky foods appear healthy, don’t fall for it. Stick with whole plant foods – shop the perimeter of the store, as they say – and don’t bring home anything that you know you don’t want to eat.
- Shop on a full stomach. You’re more likely to succumb to temptation when you’re hungry.
- Eat dark, leafy greens and other foods high in magnesium, such as nuts, seeds, brown rice, quinoa, and avocado, to help reduce sugar cravings.
- Keep healthy snacks such as whole fruits, nuts, seeds, and kale chips on hand and easily accessible.
- When you’re craving sweets, turn to naturally sweet foods and spices such as coconut, cinnamon, corn, sweet potatoes, and, of course, fruit.
- Eat a healthy meal prior to attending parties or going anywhere where you know you’ll be tempted.
- If you’re going to buy processed foods, be sure to read the label to check for added sugar.
- Weigh yourself daily. Closely monitoring your weight can help you stay conscious of what you’re eating.
- Stay hydrated. Dehydration can lower levels of the feel-good neurotransmitter serotonin and cause food cravings.
- Explain your intentions to family and friends and ask them to support you by not offering you sugary foods and drinks.
- Exercise! Research has shown that short bouts of physical activity may reduce sugary snack cravings in overweight people.
To satisfy your sweet tooth, check out the website’s healthy plant-based dessert recipes.
YOU CAN DO IT
Overcoming longstanding habits such as sugar cravings or addiction is not easy, but you can do it! Be patient and forgive yourself if you succumb to temptation. Remember, this is not just about willpower; it’s about biochemistry. Try some of the tips above, and please be sure to let me know what works for you—I love success stories!
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This is great information. I would really like to learn more about plant-based cooking so my family can be healthier. My teenage daughter has been bullied for being overweight and I want to help her by changing our eating lifestyle. This goes for me and my husband. Can you direct me to more helpful information?
Hey there, I’m so sorry to hear about your daughter, that’s a tough one. It’s great you’re brainstorming on ways to help. If you and your husband are making changes I’m sure that will help her, not only because you’ll be role models, but you’ll also be offering new food choices. There are a lot of articles on the website here and the “Start Here” page may be a good place to begin, especially the “steps” articles. I think the easiest way to start is with transitioning recipes you already love to ones that are healthier. You can look through the recipes on this site and of course, there are many that offer delicious plant-based meals.
And, make a meal plan (you could use my free meal planner) to keep you on track. As for cooking, think about cutting back on all added oil and fat because they have the most calories.
If you like to read, I would recommend Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s book, “The End of Dieting,” because it’s one of the easier ones to implement without a lot of fuss.
I hope some of this is helpful. I suppose it can feel overwhelming at first. What aspect do you think is the most challenging and I can steer you in the right direction for an answer?
Thank you for a very relevant article! I can totally agree with what you said about not taking the first bite! It’s so hard to stop once you have started, so it’s better not to start in the first place! I’ve been vegetarian for 35 years, and trying to go vegan for the last 6 months, my stumbling block being yoghurt! I just can’t find one that tastes good, and making my own seems too complicated! If you have any suggestions on that score, I’d be grateful! Meanwhile, thank you from Australia, and keep up the good work!
Hi Michele, Thanks for you feedback and comments. I do have a recipe for soy milk yogurt and it is a bit involved but quite satisfying when you have your very own homemade yogurt without additives like locust bean gum. I have enjoyed store-bought vegan yogurt like plain unsweetened Forager’s cashew yogurt or Kitehill almond yogurt both which, however, have gums. My recipe does have a little cornstarch to help with thickening. I like using soy milk for the added protein. I hope your journey to vegan continues to go well despite your missing a good yogurt. Cheese is often a stumbling block, as well.