Sweeteners
The U.S. per capita intake of table sugar (sucrose) is about 64 pounds a year. USDA.
Refined sugar is in many processed products: E.g. spaghetti sauce, salad dressing, peanut butter, mayonnaise, and ketchup;
Excessive consumption of refined sugar is taking its toll on health. The following links address the specific health concerns of over-consumption of sugar(and HFCS) and offer ways to reduce intake of these substances:
Too much sugar - A common addiction adversely affecting health
Too much fructose - Burdens liver / Increases inflammation / Favors fat production
To get across the reality of how much sugar is in a product, this author would change product labeling amounts for sugar from grams or ounces into teaspoons:
1 ounce of sugar / 28.35 grams = ~7 teaspoons
Consider, for example:
| Product | Teaspoons of sugar |
|---|---|
| Coco Cola vitamin water (20 oz) (Should be called "sugar water") | 8 |
| Oscar Mayer Lunchables crackers, turkey & American cheese | 7 ¾ |
| Coca-Cola Classic (12 oz can) | 8 ¼ |
| Yoplait original yogurt (6 oz) | ~7 |
| Starbucks Caffé Vanilla Frappuccino Blended Coffee Whip (16 oz) | 15 |
| Cranberry Juice (Ocean Spray 100% Juice/no sugar added)(8 oz) - sugar comes from fruit juices | 8 ½ |
To figure number of teaspoons of sugar:
Divide # of grams by 4. Look at the label where it says "total sugars" and divide the number of grams by four. This computation alone should scare you away!
Multiple # of ounces by 7.
Don't you think that seeing those teaspoon amounts would likely hit home and make you think twice before consuming them? Then . . . I NEED YOUR VOTE! :)
