Fill your plate with plenty of fruit, vegetables, starchy veggies, legumes (peas, beans, lentils), and intact whole grains (brown rice, corn, oat, wheat, and/or barley). Do you know how to read labels? To be honest; I did not learn myself until taking an online Plant-Based Nutrition course with Cornell two years ago! This is despite being trained in medicine. I know that is hard to believe. “Less than 25% of physicians receive the minimum 25 hours of nutrition education set by the National Academy of Sciences.” So.. let us talk about sugar!
Sugar! We are addicted to it and why not. A sugar rush can make us feel like we can conquer the world but is it causing harmful effects to our health? Non-sugar sweeteners have become increasingly common ingredients found in soft drinks, "diet" foods, and other processed products.
The U.S. Dietary Guidelines currently recommend that Americans ages 2 and older limit their intake of added sugars to less than 10% of their daily calories, or about four tablespoons for someone consuming a 2,000-calorie diet. Children under the age of 2 are advised to consume no added sugars at all in their diet. The average American consumes around 34 teaspoons of sugar a day, which equals over 500 calories, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. We see these effects in our children. According to the CDC (2017-2021), the prevalence of obesity was 19.7% or 14.7 in children and adolescents aged 2-19 years.
This week; WHO advised against sugar substitutes. Zero calorie non-sugar sweeteners, including artificial and natural sweeteners because they have not been shown to help with weight loss long-term in children or adults, and their use may bring side effects like increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, Type 2 diabetes, and death in adults. Common non-sugar sweeteners include acesulfame K, aspartame, advantame, cyclamates, neotame, saccharin, sucralose, stevia, and stevia derivatives. Franco Branca, WHO director of nutrition and food safety said, “People need to consider other ways to reduce free sugars intake, such as consuming food with naturally occurring sugars, like fruit, or unsweetened food and beverages. Attempting to follow a Whole Food Plant Based Diet (WFPD) avoids these sugar substitutes because of its focus on “natural” sugars from whole foods; like fruits. Therefore; this can help reverse or decrease the possibility of being overweight or developing cardiovascular diseases or Type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Kimberly N. Works, MD, Pediatrician
