Eating For Health

Added sugar – many people don’t know the difference between sugars added to food versus the natural sugars in foods.   It is the added sugars that we need to be concerned about.   Nathan Myers, R.D., a clinical dietitian notes that it isn’t just the extra calories added sugars add to your day but all those added sugars can pose a risk to your health.   “Added sugar also increases your risk of developing a laundry list of serious health problems including being overweight and conditions related such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even some cancers.”   What is Added Sugar?   What is the difference between Added Sugar and the Natural Sugar in foods? Added Sugar:   This is the sugar that manufacturers add to foods.   It can be the simple white table sugar, or brown sugar but it can also be high fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate, maple syrup, molasses, corn syrup, or raw sugar.   FDA requires new food labels to clearly list ...

One nutrition topic in the news this week was trans fats.   T rans Fats In the news because the federal government is pressing towards banning all trans fats in our food supply. What are Trans Fats?   This fat is made by adding hydrogen to vegetable oil which makes it a more solid fat.    But by making the fat more solid, they create a fat that is bad for our health.   Why Are Trans Fats Bad for Your Health? Trans fats are known as the “bad” fats.   Actually, the worst of the fats as they have been linked to heart disease, stroke and developing type 2 diabetes.   In an article by the Associated Press, ( No More Trans Fat:   FDA Banning the Artery Clogger ) they called them “heart clogging trans fats”.    Good description as these fats have been linked to heart disease because they not only aise your “bad” cholesterol (LDL –cholesterol), but also lower your good cholesterol (HDL cholesterol)   and thus increase your r...