Sugar is Sugar

Blog Post #4
I decided to conduct more research before I developed my curriculum.  I had not gone into much depth about artificial sweeteners, and natural versus refined sugar, and wanted to know more about these topics.

I learned that “refined sugar” is derived from either sugar cane or sugar beets. These ingredients are processed to extract the sugar, which is called sucrose. Refined sugar is digested quickly, causing a spike in insulin and for you to feel less full (causing you to eat more.) “Natural sugar” is the sugar that is in fruit and dairy products.  The sugar in fruit is called fructose, whereas the sugar in dairy products is called lactose. Natural sugar, which has vitamins and minerals in the fruit or milk, is better for an individual and does not need to be reduced as much as refined sugar should be. However, the body digest both refined and natural sugar the same way. Both types of sugar end up either as fat or glycogen. This is an important distinction that I plan on explaining in my curriculum.

I also learned that artificial sweeteners are often sweeter than refined sugar. For example, sucralose (a type of artificial sweetener) is approximately 600 times sweeter than sugar.  This clearly shows the problem with artificial sweeteners.  Even if an artificial sweetener has zero calories, your body will still crave sweetness (sugar).  Instead, to reduce calories or sugar intake, one should slowly put less sugar in the foods they make.  This way, their body will slowly become less dependent on sugar and will crave less.

Some tips I have found for reducing sugar intake include the following:

• Drink less soda and more water.
• Reduce the amount of sugar you add to foods and drinks, such as coffee or tea.
• Eat more fruit (fresh, frozen, or canned).
• To avoid most of the food with added sugar, shop the perimeter of the grocery store.
• Read the labels and choose products with less added sugar.
• For sweetness in your cereal or oatmeal, add fruit instead of sugar.
• Add less sugar when baking cookies or brownies.

With all the information I have learned, I am ready to create the outline of my curriculum.