| Apply the Brakes on Sugar | | | | Though there is no established recommended |
| How bad is sugar? In moderation, it can be part | | | | daily allowance (RDA) for sugar, you should |
| of a healthy diet. Sugar belongs to the | | | | concentrate of getting the bulk of your |
| carbohydrate group, which also includes starches | | | | carbohydrates from complex sources-such as |
| and fibers. Natural sugars are found in fruit (in the | | | | breads, rice, and pasta-and most of your simple |
| form of fructose) and milk (as lactose). Sugar | | | | carbohydrates from fruits and dairy products, |
| becomes a dietary culprit when it is added to | | | | which also contain vitamins, minerals, and fiber. |
| other foods (usually processed items). Major | | | | Sweet, Sweet Food Labels |
| sources of added sugar are those found in soft | | | | The FDA requires sugar content to be included on |
| drinks, candy, pastries, cookies, ice cream, and | | | | all nutrition facts panels. The panel lists total |
| other sweets. Although the body does not know | | | | carbohydrates and sugar in terms of grams per |
| the difference between sugar and complex | | | | serving. Sugar is part of the total carbohydrate |
| carbohydrates, most sugars are referred to as | | | | amount that is listed. If you purchase a food with |
| "empty calories" because they provide calories but | | | | added sugar, make sure it also provides plenty of |
| very little or no nutritional value. Satisfy your | | | | nutrients such as vitamins and minerals, and fiber. |
| sweet tooth, but do it in moderation. | | | | When checking the ingredient labels on packaged |
| How Much Is Too Much? | | | | food, you will find all types of sweeteners listed. |
| The typical American diet is packed with too | | | | The suffix "-ose" (fructose, sucrose, lactose) |
| much sugar, and nutrition experts agree that | | | | indicates that an ingredient is a form of sugar. |
| Americans need to cut back. The idea behind a | | | | Look for these other ingredients that indicate |
| healthy pregnancy diet is to eat foods that really | | | | added sugar: brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn |
| count toward your nutritional intake. Eating too | | | | syrup, fruit juice concentrate, high-fructose corn |
| many sugary foods means lots of extra calories | | | | syrup, honey, invert sugar, lactose, molasses, and |
| and very little nutrition. Eating too many of these | | | | raw sugar. |
| foods also tends to bump out the more nutritious | | | | If you see a nutritional claim with the word |
| foods that you should be choosing. Foods with | | | | "sugar" on the front of a packaged label, it is |
| lots of added sugar should only be occasional | | | | important to understand what that claim means. |
| treats, not regular snacks. | | | | |