Sugars

Foods with a lot of sugar often have plenty of calories and few nutrients. High-sugar foods are also often high in fat.  Foods that have a lot of sugar include:

• candy
• ice cream
• honey
• jams and jellies
• pies, cakes, cookies and other baked goods
• regular soft drinks
• sugar
• syrup

 

Suggested Servings of Carbs Per Day
(based on daily calorie ranges)

	If your maximum daily calories =   Then recommended servings =	1,200 to 1,600	1,600 to 2,000		2,000 to 2,400
Sugary Foods		0 to 1		0 to 1		0 to 1

Examples of a single serving:

• one plain doughnut
• one-twelfth of an angel food cake
• one 3-inch cookie
• one tablespoon maple syrup
  
  

Sweet foods don't raise blood glucose levels any more or any faster than other carbohydrates. You need to count sugar in the same way you count other carbohydrates. Read the nutrition labels to determine the number of carbohydrates per serving size. Test your blood glucose after eating different types of sugars and sweets. That way you'll know the effect different sweeteners have on your blood glucose, and you can make more informed choices.

Here are ways to feed your sweet tooth without going overboard:

• Eat only a small amount of a favorite sweet.
  
  
• Split a dessert in a restaurant.
  
  
• Use an ice cream scoop and have a one-scoop cone rather than a large dish of ice cream or frozen yogurt.
  
  
• Substitute sugar-free sweetened foods whenever possible.

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Written by Bobbie Hasselbring
Reviewed by Beth Seltzer, MD
Last updated June 2008