Jon Stanton

I should call this blog "true confessions of a sugar addict." Yes, without a doubt, my sweet tooth is my most significant weight-loss/healthy eating challenge. I often hear people say "I couldn't eat that - it was too sweet or too rich." I have no idea what that means. I've never encountered something too sweet or too rich. I've even been known to eat sugar (especially brown sugar) by the teaspoon!

Just today, I saw an article on msnbc.com about how much sugar Americans are eating. The average American is now consuming 22 teaspoons of added sugar daily. Teenagers consume 34 teaspoons on average. What is especially disturbing is that these measures include only "added" sugar - meaning that naturally-occurring sugars (such as "fructose" in fruit and "lactose" in dairy) are not included. Experts say that ideally, women should not consume more than 6 teaspoons of added sugar daily and men should not consume more than 9. Obviously, we have a LONG road before us to get to those numbers!

The article also said that the number one culprit, by a wide measure, is regular soda. One 12 oz can of regular Coke or Pepsi contains 8 added teaspoons of sugar! Ladies, you're over your daily allowance already if you have just one regular soda!

I am often asked about artificial sweeteners since most people rightly assume that I probably work diligently to avoid sugar. Let me start by saying that I am GREATLY encouraged by the fact that the FDA recently approved stevia for general use (it's approval had previously been limited to use as a supplement - meaning you could by it in packets to use it yourself, but food items could not be made with it). Stevia is a NATURAL product - it comes from the stevia plant. It has been used for many years in countries such as Japan. I've used stevia for a while to sweeten things like fruit, and I recently discovered that the brand of low-sugar orange juice I buy (Trop 50) now uses it as well. I think we will be seeing stevia turn up in many items in the future.

As for the artificial sweeteners, let me go on record as saying I do drink diet sodas and other "0 calorie" drinks sweetened with NutraSweet or Splenda. I try to stick with Splenda as much as possible, since the evidence of its possible side effects seem to be less than NutraSweet or saccharin (of course, that may be the case only because it hasn't been around as long). Do I think artificial sweeteners are unhealthy or should be avoided? If possible, yes - not only because of possible side effects (I am personally not convinced that many of the conspiracy theories out there about the side effects have scientific merit), but because there is plenty of scientific evidence about the fact that use of artificial sweeteners can actually trigger the brain's desire for sweet, high-calorie foods more than natural sweeteners such a sugar or honey. Bottom line as far as I'm concerned - it's ALWAYS better to stick with what's natural as opposed to using something artificial or chemical-based.

However, I'm also realistic. I have a sweet-tooth problem. If using Splenda and/or NutraSweet is going to help me stay at a healthy weight and unless I am presented with SOLID scientific evidence proving that they are going to kill me, then I'm likely to still enjoy my diet soda. You may not agree with me, and that's fine - but this is my personal opinion and perspective.

I am happy to say that on a daily basis, for the most part, I am well within my "9-teaspoon" allotment for added sugar. No one is saying you can never enjoy cake, pie or ice cream. However, consider enjoying them occasionally, rather than every night after dinner. And, if you're a regular soda drinker, consider something different without 8 teaspoons of added sugar! Your waistline and your health will thank you!