Sweet talk

With November being National Diabetes Awareness Month, the focus is squarely on proper management of blood sugar values when choosing foods with naturally occurring and added sugars.

November is National Diabetes Awareness Month. Of course, healthy eating is a key part of diabetes management.

Sugar is an ingredient that even those without diabetes are watching for in their diet. Sugar is a type of carbohydrate that breaks down into glucose and is used as a type of energy. There are two types of sugars in foods — naturally occurring sugars and added sugars. Naturally occurring sugars are those in fruit and milk products, whereas added sugars are those added to foods such as pop, snack foods, cereals and flavoured yogurts, for example.

Foods that have naturally occurring sugars, like fruit, contain many nutritional benefits including fibre, vitamins and minerals, so you do not need to avoid these foods. However, if you have diabetes, controlling the portion size of fruits and milk products at each meal is helpful for managing your blood sugar values.

The World Health Organization recommends adults limit added sugars to 25 g per day, which equals six teaspoons. Although this may sound like a lot, it can add up quickly as sugars are added to many foods that you may not even be aware of.

On a food’s nutrition label, the Nutrition Facts panel does not list added and naturally occurring sugars separately — rather, it shows only the total amount of sugar. So, the best way to determine whether a food’s sugar content is naturally occurring or not is to read the ingredient list. If there are any sugars listed in the first few ingredients, the food is likely quite high in added sugar. Added sugars include a variety of sweeteners such as honey, agave syrup, glucose, sucrose, and maple syrup along with sugar itself.

Sugar substitutes such as stevia, sucralose and aspartame do not affect blood sugars. Health Canada has approved these as safe if consumed in amounts up to the acceptable daily intake. Sugar alcohols, such as xylitol and sorbitol, do not affect blood sugars and are only partly digested by the body. If you consume more than 10 g of sugar alcohol per day, you may experience some GI side effects.

If you prefer to avoid sugar substitutes (and particularly artificial sweeteners such as sucralose and aspartame), you can reduce added sugars in your diet by purchasing foods with little or no added sweeteners. Opt for plain oatmeal or plain yogurt, and flavour it with spices, fruit zests, or vanilla extract. When baking, you can also experiment with reducing the amount of sugar called for in a recipe by up to one-third — often there is no noticeable difference in the final product.

Overnight Steel Cut Oats with Chia is a high-fibre breakfast option. Although it does include

some maple syrup, you can reduce the amount if you wish and add in cinnamon and nutmeg.

Have a nutrition question? Want to book an appointment or educational store tour for yourself or your community group or business? Contact me by phone at 902-921-0700 or by email at courtney.masey2@loblaw.ca. Courtney Masey is a Registered dietitian

with atlantic Superstore in truro.