I like to have a sweet treat from time to time, especially if it is a homemade cookie or a lavish dessert made from scratch in one of my favorite New York City restaurants. But even if you don't splurge every day on dessert, you might be getting a lot more sugar than you should.
But how much is too much? And is sugar really bad for you as they say?
Historically, sugar consumption is on the rise -- here are some sugar shock stats (PDF). In 1970, each American was eating on average 123 pounds of sugar a year and today that number is up to 152 pounds -- which means three pounds in just one week, a little under one cup a day. Nutritionists say to limit sugar to around 13 teaspoons a day so we are getting almost four times the recommended daily amount from a variety of sources.
A lot of people are wondering if there is a healthy form of sugar: Since most of the sugars trigger the same rise in blood sugar, there is no real difference between them except for how quickly that sugar spike hits the system. This is where eating more complex carbohydrates and beneficial fruits is a great way to slow that blood glucose change and deal with the daily crave for sweets.
As in my last post, I still think it's OK to enjoy other forms of sugar in moderation; we all like our treats from time to time, especially on holidays and special occasions. But if you're looking for low-sugar treats, try my recipes for avocado chocolate milkshake, brown sugar ice cream or rugelach.
After the jump -- chewing the fat on "diet" food.
Let Me Expand On Fat
Commenters on my last post voiced their views on "fat" so I let me clarify a bit. I don't believe in non-fat food or eating super low-fat "diet" food. For me, it's about staying within limits and eating fats and sugars in moderation. When you cook at home, it's so much easier to scale back your fat intake -- especially in the case of saturated fat known to lead to heart disease.
What does that mean? To protect your heart, nutritionists say to stay under 20 grams of saturated fat a day when you consume about 2,000 calories a day -- which allows a person my size and activity level to maintain a healthy weight.
Let's see how the saturated fat alone adds up in some of the foods we all crave:
Eat a big bacon cheeseburger, and you're already over the limit on saturated fat in one meal. I know it's hard to stay within the limits all the time. I love to dine out and enjoy a bistro-style cheeseburger at least twice a month, but what we eat on a regular basis has a huge effect on weight and overall health. I know this personally as a reformed emotional-overeating, meat-and-potato gal and sugar junkie.
A note to reader Christopher: Thanks so much for your note, there are many brands of low-fat sour cream that don't contain HFCS. I always take a fast scan of the label.
And to Alex: Full fat dairy tastes wonderful and I'm a gourmet cheese lover myself. There are several brands of reduced fat cheese that do melt well and work well for everyday recipes.
Learn more about Jennifer at skinnychef.com, and read her exclusive Slashfood blogs every Monday and Friday.
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