Be Sugar Savvy

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You’ve probably heard something like this before: “Sugar is the enemy.” You might think that if you don’t avoid sugar at all costs, you’re somehow failing. But as you learned in your WW Freestyle weekly it isn’t something you must—or even should—banish entirely. In fact, sugar appears naturally in many zero Points foods: All fruits, many vegetables, and even nonfat plain yogurt contain naturally occurring sugars. But such foods are also rich in essential nutrients and so help form the foundation of a healthy eating pattern.

On the other hand, foods with added sugar are more of a choice than a nutritional building block. Soft drinks, candy, cookies, cake and other such processed foods typically lack essential nutrients, so it’s not ideal if they’re routinely eaten instead of healthier, whole foods. Additionally, foods with added sugar tend to be high in saturated fat and sodium as well. That’s where the SmartPoints® system comes in—a single number factors in sugar and saturated fat (as well as protein) so you can decide how and when to fit in favourites with added sugar.

If you’re ready to strike a right-for-you balance when it comes to all kinds of sugars, read on!

Here are a few key words to look for on labels when grocery shopping—each of these is a different way of saying “added sugar.” And there are dozens more: This article lists them. (Remember, you can use the barcode scanner on your app to get the SmartPoints for most packaged foods and decide whether to pop it into your cart.)

• High-fructose corn syrup

• Evaporated cane juice

• Maltose

• Dextrose

• *Sucrose

While some foods clearly contain added sugar—such as birthday cake and soft drinks—many other foods you might not think of have it as well: jarred marinara sauce, some soups, and pickles. But. again, added sugar doesn’t mean the food is off limits! It just means you need to keep moderation in mind and be aware of what you put into your body. While knowing how many grams of sugar is helpful, you can divide the grams of sugar by four to find out how many teaspoons of sugar it has—which might be a more powerful visual.

First of all, rest easy: It’s not possible, physiologically, to be addicted to sugar. As you learned in your Weekly, you’d have to crave apples, bananas, and other foods with natural sugars; and be obliged to cut out sugar entirely. And if you’ve ever gone through a few days or week where you did cut out sugar, you didn’t experience physical withdrawal. It’s simply that you have a habit of eating certain foods. So rather than something you need to ban, foods with added sugar are foods to plan for, rather than eat impulsively.

Pre-tracking sweets—like these scrumptious yet SmartPoints-savvy ice- pops allows you to prioritize what you really want, rather than eating something high in added sugar because it happens to be in front of you. Let’s say you plan to meet a friend at your favourite gelato place this evening. Pre-track the gelato! That way, if you spy leftover birthday cake in the office kitchen, it’s easier to pass it by: You’ve got a date with a food you really love!