Raider Wellness / March 2014
LPA Wellness Connection
Reduce Your Risk for Heart Disease: Scoop out the Sugar
How Sugar Harms Your Heart
Sugar damages the blood vessels and raises inflammation in the following ways:
• Increased uric acid levels blood pressure and cholesterol by damaging the walls of our blood vessels
• Increased risk of periodontal disease, tooth decay and bacteria that increase inflammation
• Increased risk for excess weight due to additional calories
• Increased risk for higher blood sugar levels which damage blood vessels throughout the body
AHA Recommendation
The American Heart Association recommendations:
• No more than 6 teaspoons or 100 calories a day for women
• No more than 9 teaspoons or 150 calories a day for men
How to Scoop Sugar Out of Your Diet
Just as the majority of sodium does not come from the salt shaker, the majority of sugar doesn’t come from your sugar
bowl.
Sugar-sweetened beverages like soda, energy drinks, and sport drinks are the leading source of added sugars in the
American diet. The sugar found in natural sources, whole fruits and vegetables (fructose), low fat dairy (lactose) are
healthful additions. For example, when you eat an orange you are getting a lot of vitamin C, potassium and fiber in
addition to the natural sugars.
1. Avoid sugar as one of the first three ingredients on the nutrition label. Examples include: sucrose (table sugar),
corn sweetener, high fructose corn syrup, fruit concentrates, nectars, raw sugar, malt syrup, fructose
sweeteners. Liquid fructose, honey, molasses, anhydrous dextrose, or other words ending in “ose,” the chemical
suffix for sugars. The total amount of sugar in a food is listed under A “Total Carbohydrate’s on the Nutrition
Facts label.
2. Enjoy more water, less soda, sports and energy drinks, sweetened teas and sugary coffee drinks.
3. Cut back on the amount of sugar you add to things that you eat or drink like syrup on pancakes, sugar in coffee,
tea or oatmeal and pasta on spaghetti.
4. Choose cereal and breakfast bars containing less than 8 grams of sugar.
5. Swap out cakes, cookies, candy and frozen desserts for whole fruit or crunch vegetables.
6. Limit baked goods including donuts, waffles, bagel and muffins for special occasions or make from scratch.
7. Cut the sugar in baked goods by 1/3, replacing with equal parts unsweetened applesauce, additional extracts
and spices.
8. Be smart about hidden sugars such as ketchup, spaghetti and pizza sauces and flavored yogurts.
9. Choose no added or packed in natural juice for canned or frozen fruits.
Bottom Line: These results are not a green light for sodium rich foods. They are a red light to cut the excess sugar out
of your diet. Let’s all eat in moderation! Eat Healthy and Stay Active!
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