Sugar, Sugar

Have you heard the fact that a 20-ounce bottle of regular Coke contains the equivalent of 17 teaspoons of sugar? Can you imagine going to your sugar bowl or canister and eating 17 teaspoons of sugar straight? Do you check the sugar content on food and nutrition labels?

Health “experts” proclaim the average American eats about 156 pounds of sugar a year – at least double what health experts recommend.

To convert the grams listed on the label into teaspoons, simply divide the grams of sugar by 4.2 to get the number of teaspoons. For example, an 8-ounce container of fat free fruit yogurt has 43.1g, or 10.3 teaspoons of sugar. (43.1 divided by 4.2 equals 10.3) The USDA recommends that the average person eat no more than 10 teaspoons of sugar per day.

Sugar’s Sweet Usefulness

• In small amounts, added sugar helps yeast begin producing gas for raising yeast dough.
• Sugar tenderizes doughs and batters
• Sugar helps brown baked goods
• Sugar makes the crumb of baked goods moist
• Sugar aids in the structure of cakes
• It is the white sugar in cookie dough that helps spreading to occur during baking

Sugar is such an integral part of our lives that to cut it out would be to remove much of the pleasure of eating. But, it does not have to be that way. Check out “Reduce Sugar, Not Flavor” on our sister site for pertinent information on reducing sugar intake, without reducing the pleasure to your palate.

Category: Food Fitness