Ann Louise Gittleman - Get the Sugar Out, Revised and Updated 2nd Edition: 501 Simple Ways to Cut the Sugar Out of Any Diet

contents

This book is dedicated to Isaac Aaron Gittleman,
a beloved addition to the Gittleman family

acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge the creative team at Crown Publishers for their strong support of this newly revised book. My deepest thanks go to my editor, Lindsey Moore; copy editor Sue Warga; production editor Cindy Berman; publicist Jennifer Reyes; publishing manager Carrie Thornton, and, of course, my literary agent, Coleen OShea, for making this all happen in the first place! Once upon a time, Coleen was my editor for my very first book. So, literally and figuratively, she deserves my gratitude and profound thanks for spearheading my writing career. Thank you, Coleen!

I am also grateful for the research and creative work that Kathryn Winifred Mays Wright, M.A., contributed to this project. Katey was always there for last-minute fact-checks, and I so appreciate her sterling work ethic and grace under pressure. I hope we will work together again, Katey.

My personal thanks to Stuart Gittleman, my significant brother, who is also the operations and business manager of First Lady of Nutrition, Inc. Stuart inherited our fathers wonderful sense of humor, patience, and objectivity. He has handled all of our business dealings with a great deal of sensitivity and integrity. I am very proud of him!

I also must acknowledge my personal assistant Tami Oliver, the most focused organizer and planner this side of the Mississippi. Tami has kept my office, my files, and my closet together through a very hectic year of writing and personal challengeswithout batting an eyelash. You are a true woman of valor, Ms. Tami.

Speaking of women of valor, I simply must mention my circle of women associates, friends, and professionals (many of whom are all three) who have been especially supportive of me during the updating of this book. It has been very comforting knowing that I have such a resource of wonderful women when I need them. Thanks to all these lovely ladies for being there: Liz Krichman, Susan Meredith, Linda Hooper, Dr. Shirley Scott, my cousin Donna Lee, Dr. Nan Fuchs, Siri Khalsa, Roon Frost, Jo Len Schoor, Vicki Accardi, Susan Carlson, Jeannette Boudreau, Kathryn McKinley, Anne Hiaring, Sally Manthos, Lena Coleman, Jolie Root, Frankie Boyer, Judy Williams, Dr. Nancy, Joan Lanning, Chee Chee Phillips, Laura Evenson, Christina Long, Llolyn Pobram, Kathie Moe, Judi Wilson, Karen Jarmon, and my mother, Edith Gittleman.

Finally, there are several very special men whom I would like to recognize: Dr. Brad Reed and Dr. Paul Schutz (my chiropractors), Dr. Kevin Johnson, Rex Lettau (my trainer), Howard M. Lee (my acupuncturist), and most of all James William Templeton, the love of my life.

sugar savvy 101: the facts about sugar and its kissing cousins

a s you have probably heard, all of us should be eating less sugar. Heres why: Sugar has been linked to more than sixty different ailments, including obesity. While refined sugar consumption has declined in recent years, a new breed of sugar substitutes has emerged in the form of artificial sweeteners such as Splenda, aspartame, and sugar alcohols, as well as high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Alarmingly, sugars kissing cousins may be even more harmful to your health than sugar itself.

So today it is more important than ever that you understand and practice sugar savvy.

HFCS is perhaps the most insidious of all sugar substitutes, as it alone accounts for more than 40 percent of caloric sweeteners added to foods and drinks in the United Stateswith consumption growth matching the escalating rise in obesity. Did you know that between 1970 and 2000 per capita consumption of HFCS in the United States went from an estimated 0.6 pounds per person per year to a whopping 73.5 pounds, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Agricultural Economic Research Service?

You might see a label that doesnt list the white stuff and think that you are home free. Not true. Manufacturers are now using the cheaper HFCS and artificial sweeteners to take the place of sugar, and both artificial sweeteners and HFCS have been implicated in the fattening of America. (For more information on the dangers of artificial sweeteners, see the Consumer Alert: What You Need to Know About the Top Two Artificial Sugar Substitutes on Chapter 1.)

The perception of sugar-free is not unlike that of fat-free in the 1980s and early 1990s. Consider this: Ever since we started slashing the fat and consuming those monster-sized low-fat muffins and boxes of fat-free cookiesyou remember the Snack-Wells crazewe have actually gotten fatter, going from a 25 percent obesity rate in the 1970s to more than double that two decades later. Why? Because Americans were consuming those fat-free goodies with abandon, disregarding the fact that they usually have more sugar, and sometimes only slightly fewer calories, than the original products.

Lets take a close look at Nabisco Fig Newtons cookies as an example. Two of the original Fig Newtons supply you with 13 grams of sugars and 110 calories. If you eat two Nabisco Fat-Free Fig Newtons, thinking youre doing your body a favor, youll get no fat, but youll get more sugar15 grams instead of 13 gramsand only 10 fewer calories.

Add to this the fact that the fat in the original cookie helps satiate your appetite, so you are apt to eat only a few. With the fat-free kind, people sometimes eat whole boxes without ever feeling satisfied.

Nonetheless, sales of fat-free products skyrocketed. In line with this modern misconception (or should I say health deception?), reduced-sugar products now line the shelves and ultimately play this same trick on your hunger receptors and your waistline. Consider that roughly a decade ago 36 reduced-sugar products had edged their way into your local supermarket. In 2003 that number jumped to 607. In 2004 about 2,200 sugarless or sugar-reduced products were available for sale in the United States. Reduced-sugar and sugar-free products, from breakfast cereals to jelly beans, have taken up permanent residence on our supermarket shelves. And they are multiplying rapidly. So before you automatically reach for that reduced-sugar product, remind yourself that it is up to you to be your own food detective.

As a food detective, you simply need to recognize that if you are automatically reaching for a product advertising itself as reduced-sugar to be able to eat sweets without the intake of calories, you may be in for a rude awakening. When a product is supplemented with one of sugars kissing cousins you may not be significantly reducing calories at all. For example in 2003, Jelly Belly jelly beans added Splenda to decrease the sugar content and slapped on a sugar-free label. Yet the difference between the original Jelly Belly and the sugar-free Jelly Belly is only one calorie.

Finally, as a food detective, you need to ask yourself whether or not sugar substitutes are really safe. In fact, the sugar substitute in our exampleSplendahas been linked to a variety of symptoms such as headaches, bloating, and stomach cramps. Consider that the official Jelly Belly Web site warns that children under three years of age should not consume the sugar-free kinds because their immature digestive system combined with smaller body mass could trigger digestive discomfort, and suggests that parents should carefully monitor childrens total consumption.

As a matter of fact, a number of studies suggest that consumption of artificial sweeteners can actually increase caloric intake. For example, after eight years of collecting data, Sharon P. Fowler, MPH, and her colleagues reported the results of a study conducted at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center noting a 41 percent increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day. The moral of this study: Remember to not only watch what you eatwatch what you drink.