The Shocking 65 & Other "Sweet" Tales

Last week, while preparing for a presentation on wellness, I came along food labels for certain soft and energy drinks.

I must have read this type of information hundreds of times but it never stops shockingly amaze me to realize that they may contain up to 65 grams of sugar (or more) per 600 ml (20 oz)!

Now consider that the American Heart Association recommends no more than 25 grams of added sugar per day for women and no more than 37.5 gm of added sugars per day for men. So, if you just consumed 20 oz of a sugary beverage you’ve probably gulped in your added sugar allowance for an entire 2-day period!

And it is not just sugary beverages that contain a shocking amount of sugar, much more sugar that a health-conscious person could possibly afford. All of the so called “fast carbs” (high glycemic index carbohydrates) have lots of sugars that are quickly digested and absorbed from the stomach into the bloodstream. Fast carbs include not only sugary beverages, cookies, desserts, ice cream, baked goods and donuts but also added sugars found in low-fat yogurt and starches present in white bread, white pasta, white rice, white potatoes. If consumed daily or in large quantities, fast carbs are dangerous for our health because:

• They have a great taste and texture that we cannot resist

• Instead of keeping us full for several hours they promote hunger: the sugar-high leads to insulin-spike and then, 1.5-2 hours later, sugar-low, making us hungry and forcing us to eat again and again.

So, read the food labels and limit the amount of added sugar you have per day to no more than the equivalent of 6-9 teaspoons of table sugar. Avoid sugary beverages and be skeptical of “low-fat” yogurt. If you cannot entirely resist white bread, white pasta, white rice or white potatoes, consume them only in small amounts. If you are diabetic or obese, I highly recommend that you invest in a personal nutritionist. It will be one of the best investments you can make in your health journey!

To your health,

Dr. Anthony

THE VICIOUS CYCLE OF HUNGER!

You read labels that say “HFCS”, or High Fructose Corn Syrup, or corn syrup….but what does that mean? If corn is in HFCS...well, corn is a vegetable so it must be healthy, right? Well, don’t be fooled. HFCS is a form of sugar and like all simple sugars, gives our body empty calories that turn into fat without providing any fiber, vitamins or antioxidants.

HFCS, like ALL simple sugars, is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and forces insulin to spike, leading to a mild hypoglycemia and then two hours later it makes us hungry and forces us to eat again...

This creates a Vicious Cycle of Hunger -

Hunger = Sugar Eating = Insulin Spikes = Hypoglycemia = More Eating

with the cycle repeating again and again, several times a day!

The result is all too well known: obesity, leading over time to type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, with the final result being heart disease and stroke. In this respect, HFCS is as dangerous and as unhealthy as cane sugar or any other calorie-containing artificial sweetener. But is it more dangerous than cane sugar?

Since the 1970’s, the use of HFCS as sweetener in sodas, baked goods and packaged products has increased dramatically in the US, as it cheaper and easier to use and more tasty. As the use of HFS has coincided with the dramatic increase in obesity, scientists and consumers alike legitimately questioned whether HFCS was behind the obesity epidemic.  Well, after decades of serious scientific work, all the evidence points to HFCS being as bad but no worse than cane sugar in contributing to obesity. Too much added sugar of any kind contributes an excess of empty calories that lead to weight gain, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, metabolic syndrome and liver disease, several forms of cancer, and tooth decay. While HFCS is part of the cause of high levels of obesity and diabetes in our country, it is not the only villain; consider that from 1970 to 2000 the average person in the US has increased its consumption of fat by almost 50%, compared to sugars increased by about 25%.

The American Heart Association recommends most women get at most 100 calories a day of added sugar from any source, and men get no more than 150.  That equates to about 6 teaspoons of added sugar for women and 9 for men.  Additionally, HFCS is not the only sweetener that contains fructose. Honey is approximately 50% fructose and 50% glucose and fruit and nectar-based sweeteners may have more fructose than glucose.

The corn industry will try to fool you to think corn syrup is ok. Please don’t fall for it. They have even gone so far as calling it naturally occurring corn sugar.

So what can YOU do to cut out HFCS and other fattening and dangerous sugars?

• Read labels

  • Check to see what is in the food you are eating

• Eat organic

  • This will eliminate the chance you are eating genetically modified foods.

• Eat whole foods

  • This means real food not pre-packaged food

• CUT out sugary drinks

• Think before you eat

  • You would be surprised to find out how many foods have corn syrup as one of their ingredients.

Be smart, be healthy!

To your health!

Dr. Anthony

When you hear “diabetes” what comes to mind?

When you hear “diabetes” what comes to mind? Most people think high blood sugar along with images of obesity, cookies, and desserts. Elevated blood sugar is indeed a prominent and obvious part of diabetes.  Patients see it for themselves as they check their blood sugar; they also experience first hand symptoms of out- of- control blood sugar like excessive urination, unquenchable thirst and even coma that sends them to the intensive care unit.

However, diabetes is more than just high blood sugar, it’s a disease of the arteries. Seven out of ten diabetic deaths are due to heart attacks and strokes, not elevated blood sugar. Diabetes makes all our arteries, large and small, much more sensitive to normal wear and tear. Artery damage due to smoking, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol is more susceptible as well.  Merely controlling blood sugar level and keeping A1c at no more than 7%, although necessary, is hardly enough to protect diabetics from the most feared complications of their disease.

So, what can diabetic patients do to get maximum protection of their arteries? Consistently practice a healthy lifestyle (NO smoking cigarettes, keep a healthy diet, and near-daily exercise) AND keep blood pressure low AND take statins AND, possibly, a low-dose (81 mg) aspirin (provided that there are no stomach or serious bleeding problems). Medications like lisinopril or losartan are also important in protecting the kidneys which can commonly fail in diabetes.  Additionally, some new non-statin cholesterol-lowering medications (Praluent and Repatha) are available but at a cost of approximately ten thousand dollars (US) per year of treatment.

Artery testing, especially testing of the heart arteries, is another element of good diabetic care. Within diabetes the nerves that signal heart pain do not work properly, so it’s not unusual for a diabetic patient to have significant clogging of the heart arteries without experiencing any chest pain. Due to this, the doctor may recommend a stress test from time to time. Diabetic patients need to create a partnership with their physicians in order to reap the full benefits of diabetes education and disease prevention.

Anthony Pothoulakis, MD, FACC