How Sweet it is!

imoldernu

imoldernu

Gone but not forgotten
Joined
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Imagine sitting down for an afternoon sweet snack.
One at a time, nine teaspoons of granulated sugar.

Not too appealing, but guess what? That's how much sugar is in one 12 ounce can of Coca Cola.

Well. of course you already knew that, but just consider how many teaspoons of sugar you consume in a day. Instead of thinking grams, think sugar intake in terms of teaspoons full of sugar. Instead of numbers, a mental image.

American Heart Association recommendations for men per day, 150 grams, or nearly 9 teaspoons... for women 100 grams, or 6 teaspoons.

Four grams of sugar = 1 teaspoon of graulated sugar.

https://authoritynutrition.com/how-much-sugar-per-day/

Here's the WebMD article on sugar content by a variety of foods most of us consume every day. To put this into a perspective that could be more meaningful than grams or calories, think in terms of sitting at the table and downing teaspoons of granulated sugar from a bowl.

Arizona Iced Tea: 16 ounces -12 tsp sugar
Pop tart -5tsp sugar
Cup oat cereal -4tsp sugar
Fat free chocolate milk 16 oz -14 tsp sugar

Sugar Shockers: Foods Surprisingly High in Sugar
 
This is why I eliminated sodas and iced teas from my diet years, indeed decades ago. The sweet taste seemed to make me more thirsty, and even hungry, rather than slaking thirst, or that is what I attributed it to. Artificial sweeteners did the same thing, perhaps even more so, as they made the drinks particularly sweet. As I age, 56 now, I have found sugar creeping back into my coffee and hot tea, as I seem to need a bit of sweetness there, where I did not so much when say in my late 40's and younger. I drink only water after breakfast. The Sugar Impact Diet book, recently checked that out of the library, has some interesting info on how much sugar many of our foods, and not just processed ones, contain.
 
We have not have soda in the house for many years. And then, I do not have the habit of eating dessert. No pie, or cake except for special occasions. We do not eat sweet food like donuts often.

I like savory food more than sweet food, and I guess my taste saves me.
 
Imagine sitting down for an afternoon sweet snack.
One at a time, nine teaspoons of granulated sugar.

Not too appealing,
Click to expand...
It sounds unappealing, but it's actually pretty delicious. Maybe I have an over active sweet tooth, but eating brown sugar by the spoonful is even more delicious.

I don't do it, because it's unhealthy. Not because it isn't appetizing.
 
I'm having a problem with the math. 150/4=9? Wouldn't it be 36 teaspoons?
 
The first linked article talks about calories of sugar not grams thus the 9 teaspoons for men and 6 teaspoons for women should be correct.

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the maximum amount of added sugars you should eat in a day are (7):

  • Men: 150 calories per day (37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons).
  • Women: 100 calories per day (25 grams or 6 teaspoons).
 
Thanks powerplant. I should have read the linked article. I'm lazy this AM.
 
Stopped drinking sugar-sweetened soda in my teens, due to wanting to control my weight. Seemed like the easiest thing to cut out.

Drank diet soda for decades, until I learned it is almost as bad for your teeth as sugar soda. Now, a diet soda is only an occasional hot-day treat.

Still, we eat lots of baked goods that have sugar in them - baked by me, that is. I make almost all our food from scratch ingredients, so I know approximately how much sugar, salt, fat, and artificial ingredients we are getting. Although OP didn't mention salt, I have discovered that I can leave out the salt in most baking recipes (other than bread), and nobody notices. Knowing how to cook is power.
 
I have a sweet tooth. I know I can't starve it, so I just try to moderate it. A can of soda every couple of weeks. No donuts or ice cream unless my weight is at or below my low weight desired range, and then no more than once or twice per month. Once packet of brown sugar in my tea (years ago 3-4 were common for me). Drink things other than water only every other day. Make my own ice tea to know exactly how much sugar is going in. Do not consume anything with HFCS expect on rare occasions (like my infrequent soda). Only eat cakes and pies at social events, and then keep it very small. Reduced my candy consumption for the equivalent of a 16 ounce bag of Skittles every day to the equivalent of half a candy bar per day, on average. Also keep an active exercise routine to help burn off the calories.

That has worked for me, and contributed to a 20 lb weight loss last year to a healthy BMI that I have been able to maintain. While I still have my sweet tooth, it has been greatly moderated over the years with these changes.
 
NW-Bound said:
We have not have soda in the house for many years. And then, I do not have the habit of eating dessert. No pie, or cake except for special occasions. We do not eat sweet food like donuts often.

I like savory food more than sweet food, and I guess my taste saves me.
Click to expand...

NW-Bound>>> you are boring! Lol I'm just joking but good for you. We have some of it around most of the time. I try to avoid it but sometimes I can't resist. You are lucky not to have it in the home that would make it a lot easier.
 
My sweet tooth has free run during the holidays. The rest of the year I moderate it similar to jollystomper. A sweet here and there during the month, but no cookies or ice cream are allowed in the house. I have no self control with the two. My go to snack is a cup mixed with blueberries, sliced banana and vanilla yogurt with a sprinkle of fibre one cereal on top. Many variations one can use with yogurt.
 
I evidently have very limited self-control, so I never succeeded with "sweets in moderation" or "a sweet here or there" approaches. I cut out ALL added sugars out of my diet for good about 5 years ago. I don't miss it at all anymore. Often friends will comment on "how disciplined I must be", when I'm the only one NOT ordering dessert - I don't feel that way at all because I don't miss it. Sweet is an acquired taste and as such can be un-acquired (at least for me).
 
We went to war against added sugar on our way to a healthier diet. I was shocked at how many things have sugar, in its various forms, added to them. Ketchup why does it need sugar?

For 5-8 months I had less than 10 grams daily. After reaching our weight goal I still watch it, but enjoy some. Normally a weighed serving of Ben and Jerry’s or Hagen Daz every night.

I still watch the totals for added(new food labels!) but for some things it's currently difficult to figure out.

It has been almost 2 years since I have had ketchup.:D
 
mamadogmamacat said:
This is why I eliminated sodas and iced teas from my diet years, indeed decades ago.
Click to expand...
+1
I don't even drink diet sodas more than once a month or so any more, because I think they are not nutritious foods and stimulate hunger. And I haven't had a soda with sugar in it for decades. They are disgusting to me by now!

I haven't kept sugar in my house for decades, either.
 
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One day I stopped adding sugar (1 teaspoon) and milk (1 tablespoon) to my daily coffee and discovered the true taste of coffee and how wonderful it is. I still continued to use a tablespoon of honey and a tablespoon of milk in my tea. I recently cut that out also but find that the milk and honey version is 1000x better than the plain version. I am retraining my taste buds.

I always have one can of Coke in the fridge. It's usually there for nearly a year before I have it. I consider Coke to be a decadent dessert and I treat it as such, savoring each small sip. Thankfully I don't crave it that often but OH how I love it when I get to have some.
 
Other than ice cream late at night, I don't really have a sweet tooth. Sugar consumption is minimal. So why am I overweight and have diabetes? Bread and pasta. Focusing on sugar obscures the real reason there are health crises in the US. I'm sure there are a fair number of people who eat too much sugar, but after all these years of gov't education (whoo! almost fell over laughing writing that!), most people know they shouldn't eat too much sugar, just like they know they shouldn't smoke. So those that do it make a personal choice to do so. Their choice. But that same gov't education has driven people away from healthy fats to "healthy" carbs, whole grains included. That's where the problem is. Step away from the daily cereal, sandwiches, pizza, and spaghetti and you can enjoy the occasional donut or slice of birthday cake, sugar be damned. It's a shame, though, because those things sure taste good.
 
Even when I was a kid, women's magazines advocated melting cheese on vegetables to get kids to eat them. I loved vegetables without anything on them, but apparently I was in a minority of children. I think the ingrained habit of melting cheese on darn near everything has contributed to obesity.
 
Amethyst said:
I think the ingrained habit of melting cheese on darn near everything has contributed to obesity.
Click to expand...

It seems to be a recent trend in some restaurants. Went to the Olive Garden last year after a long absence. Noticed that most of the dishes that came out to other tables in addition to our own orders had massive amounts of cheese melted on them. To my surprise, our waiter came with a cheese grater and asked enthusiastically, "Would you like more cheese on that?"
 
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