Empty Calories (Revised November 8, 2010)

Is soda an empty-calorie food?
If a group of people were asked whether or not soda is an empty-calorie food, the consensus would certainly be yes. It is clear that sodas are loaded with calories from sugar (high fructose corn syrup), but offer no nutritive value when it comes to protein, vitamins, minerals or other health-promoting and disease-preventing compounds.

What about pizza? 
Is this an empty-calorie food?

Many people seem confused on this issue. They tend to confuse empty calories with high-calorie. But there is a real distinction and it is important to understand the distinction if you are going to make decisions about what to eat or serve your family.

To determine if pizza is an empty-calorie food we have to look not only at the calorie content, but at whether or not it provides a reasonable amount of essential nutrients in relation to the calories.

Here’s a quick look at some basic ingredients that may be found in pizza:

Cheese, tomato sauce, choice of veggies, pineapple, mushroom, pepperoni and sausage – to name a few. And of course you have the pizza crust.

It is obvious that despite the potential to be high in calories, pizza offers some real nutritional benefits – protein, lycopene, fiber, iron, and a host of other vitamins and minerals.

What about desserts?

Dessert can also mean a bowl of chilled fresh fruit or a piece of pineapple. It could also mean frozen yogurt or ice cream. There is nothing empty about the calories you get from any of these desserts.

Even cakes and pastries that are high in fat, sugar and calories are not empty calories. They are simply high-calorie foods that have a disproportionately large number of calories from unhealthy fat and sugar. These foods are considered undesirable, not because they are empty-calorie foods, but because they have the potential for causing unhealthy weight gain and other health problems, if eaten in excess.

Take ice cream, for example. No one would deny that ice cream is an energy-dense food. However, ice cream (not the artificial stuff) contains a reasonable amount of protein, calcium and other important nutrients. Therefore, while it is a high-calorie food it does not meet the criteria for being an empty-calorie food.

Now, sodas and other sugar-sweetened beverages are a different story. These foods offer no real nutritional value beyond the calories they provide. The same can be said for most candies and confectionaries.

It is important to deliver the right messages about food in order to avoid confusion and thus make it easier for people to make the right choices when deciding what to eat and feed their families. 

Still confused about what to eat or serve your family? Talk to a registered dietitian.

Note: This post was erroneously posted earlier in its draft form. This post replaces the previous one dated November 8, 2010. If you received the draft in error, please delete it and save this post. Thank you.

Resources

U.S. Kids Filling Up on “Empty Calories,” Study Finds: Medline Plus

American Dietetic Association, news release, Oct. 1, 2010

                                                                                                 

Soda Consumption and Obesity in America

Overview

Americans consume an excessive amount of sodas, loaded with sugar, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and/or other sweeteners annually. Excessive intake of sodas and other sweetened drinks have been linked to the high incidence of obesity in the US. "The consumption of HFCS increased over 1000 percent between 1979 and 1990, paralleling the increase in obesity, according to the authors of an article in the March 2004 issue of AJCN.


Facing Your Soda Drinking Problem

To put it bluntly, excessive soda consumption is a major part of America’s obesity problem. Anyone who argues with that has his head deep in the sand. To prove the point, I challenge you to give up sodas for 6 weeks. If you succeed, you will be amazed at how easy it is to lose weight if you are overweight or obese. Case in point: In a recent 28-day challenge on the Dr. Oz (TV) Show, Dr. Roizen took the challenge and reported that he had lost 5 pounds by cutting out sodas. 

Can you give it up?

Frankly, I don’t think that many people will be up to the challenge. Call it habit. Call it addiction. Call it whatever you like. But if you are hooked on sodas; if you can't go a few days without having some, it is a habit that many people find hard to break.

The problem with drinking too much soda 

1) You are putting added sugars, which contributes to disease-causing inflammation in your body

2) You are consuming excessive amounts of phosphoric acid

3) You are adding empty calories which easily contribute to unhealthy weight gain, which in turn has been linked to the development of diabetes and a number of other chronic diseases

4) You are most likely eliminating foods that are necessary to give you the health-promoting, disease-preventing nutrients you need for optimum health

The Problem With Diet Sodas

Even if you drink so-called diet sodas, you are not doing your body any good. In case you have not heard, artificial sweeteners, known in the food industry as non-nutritive sweeteners, aren’t any better than the sugar or high fructose corn syrup found in regular sodas. In fact, recent studies suggest that artificial sweeteners fool your taste buds and alter your ability to control food intake. It stimulates insulin secretion, increases the feeling of hunger and leads to increased food intake. This obviously defeats the reason you used the artificial sweetener in the first place.

You only need to look around you to see that artificial sweeteners have done absolutely nothing to ease the obesity crisis. In fact, the increasing incidence of obesity has paralleled the increase in consumption of sodas, both sugar/high fructose corn syrup sweetened and artificially sweetened.

"The consumption of HFCS increased > 1000% between 1970 and 1990, far exceeding the changes in intake of any other food or food group. HFCS now represents > 40% of caloric sweeteners added to foods and beverages and is the sole caloric sweetener in soft drinks in the United States. Our most conservative estimate of the consumption of HFCS indicates a daily average of 132 kcal for all Americans aged 2 y, and the top 20% of consumers of caloric sweeteners ingest 316 kcal from HFCS/d." I was so struck by the referenced article - that I felt compelled to share this quote with you.


Summary

Sodas are bad for you. Remember that the next time you reach for a soda, ask yourself if you would be better off with a good old-fashioned glass of water. Want a little flavor in it? Squeeze a little juice from a lemon or lime and drink.

Resources
Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in beverages may play a r...ray et al. 79 (4):537 - - American Journal of /clinical Nutrition

The Truth About Sodas: High Fructose Corn Syrup and Other Sweeteners

Overview
If you drink sodas (soft drinks), either you are either getting a lot of calories from sugar or you are consuming an artificial sweetener of one kind or another, or you are getting your sweetener. So, what harm is there in enjoying a little sweet beverage, you might ask. Let's take a look.

High Fructose Corn Syrup 

The bulk of sweeteners used in sodas is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Many people believe that HFCS, which is made from genetically engineered corn is a responsible for the rapid increase in obesity in the United States. 

One of the most worrisome problem facing us is the fact that sodas containing HFCS has rapidly displaced more nutritious beverages, including milk and 100% fruit juice. As a result, Americans are getting more sugar and less of the important nutrients like calcium, vitamin D and vitamin C that are needed for healthy growth, development and disease prevention.

Additionally, sodas contain a large amount of calories from HFCS. Each 12-ounce can of soda that you drink provides about 140 calories. That is the equivalent of about 8 teaspoons of sugar. In essence, essence, every time you drink a soda you are consuming empty calories. These empty calories can easily add up, resulting in obesity and chronic diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.

It is important to note that the increase obesity in this country has occurred over the same period that we have experienced a huge increase in the consumption of sodas containing high fructose corn syrup. 

Sugar 

While most of the sodas on the market today are sweetened with HFCS, you might find some that actually contain table sugar. Calorie-wise, there is no difference between the number of calories that you get from sugar and HFCS. However, there is ongoing debate about whether your body handles these two sugars, table sugar and HFCS, differently.  

While the scientists continue to debate the issue, you need to focus on avoiding sodas and other foods with any form of added sugars, in order to prevent unwanted weight gain and related health problems.

You can gain unwanted weight from drinking sodas with table sugar just as well as you can from drinking sodas with HFCS. You are also likely to experience other health problems, like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and high levels of triglycerides if you drink too much sugar sweetened soda. 

Other problems associated with a high intake of table sugar, as well as HFCS, include high levels of insulin in the blood, elevated blood glucose and inflammation. Inflammation is believed to be the cause of a number of chronic diseases.

Artificial Sweeteners

In a previous blog where I discussed “The Truth About Sodas,” I mentioned two artificial sweeteners, aspartame and acesulfame potassium. These sweeteners (chemical compounds) are made by combining two amino acids, aspartic acid and phenylalanine in the presence of an acid.

While these and other artificial sweeteners were developed to provide sweetness to food and drink without the calories, there has been ongoing controversy about the safety of these chemicals. 

One issue surrounding aspartame and acesulfame potassium is the health harm that could result to individuals with an inborn error of metabolism called phenylketonuria. Artificial sweeteners have been linked to a number of other health problems, as well. These will be discussed in a future blog. 

Although artificial sweeteners (aka sugar substitute and non-nutritive sweeteners) have been marketed as weight loss aids and as a substitute for sugar in diabetics. there is no evidence that these chemicals help in either case. To the contrary, the incidence of obesity, as well as diabetes, has climbed significantly since these products have been put on the market.

Summary

Sodas offer no real nutritional benefit to consumers and may, in fact, contribute to obesity and the risk of chronic disease. Therefore, to reduce those risks, you should avoid do your best to consumption of sodas, whether sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, sugar or artificial sweeteners. This is especially important if you are trying to lose weight or want to avoid becoming obese in the first place.

World Junk-Food Free Month - October 2010

Introduction
In October of 2005, I called on Americans to set aside October to celebrate as "World Junk-Food Free Month." My hope was that Americans would begin the difficult task of shifting from the dangerous habit of overloading their diets with junk food, switch to more wholesome and nutritious foods and bring about a halt to the growing obesity epidemic.

This year, "Junk-Food Free Month," which wraps up today, was celebrated in September. But that's not the end. On October 1st, we will again celebrate "World Junk-Food Free Month," in recognition of the health threat that junk food poses, not only to Americans, but to people everywhere.

If we allow junk food to pervade the diets of people worldwide, as the junk-food industry would like, we will see obesity, chronic diseases and heath care costs rise to such an unfathomable degree that nations would be all consumed with treating the sick rather than building healthy, productive societies. We can't let this happen. We must not let it happen. 

That is why we must make the bold move and decide to quit the junk food habit. It will be hard, but what is harder is the pain and suffering, and high medical bills that result from a steady diet of junk food.

Cut the Junk

Let's wrap up "Junk-Food Free Month" today by saying "No" to sodas and any food containing 'high fructose corn syrup.' 

And let's get ready for "World Junk-Food Free Month," starting tomorrow, October 1st, with a commitment to wiping our plates and our palates clean of junk food.

Let's choose optimum health by switching to a diet of wholesome and nutritious foods.

Let's take a giant step towards stopping worldwide obesity now.

Let's do it!

Lose Weight Now: Eat Less Sugar

Overview

Sugar is a major cause of obesity and related health problems in the US. Most of this excess calories come from high fructose corn syrup, which seems to be added to just about every food imaginable - on store shelves, in fast food, at pastry shops, in the mall, in ice cream shops, on candy stands, and just about anywhere else that food is sold. The widespread addition of high fructose corn syrup to food and beverages makes it nearly impossible to avoid. Nonetheless, you should do everything you can to avoid foods with added sugars in any form.

5 Good Reasons to Avoid Added Sugar

There are many good reasons to eliminate added sugars, including high fructose corn syrup, from your diet. Here are just a few reasons:

Inflammation. High blood glucose (sugar) levels can cause inflammation throughout your body. According to a number of studies, chronic inflammation may lead to heart disease and a number of chronic diseases that affect millions in the US  and worldwide. Reducing your intake of sugar can help to reduce inflammation and promote health.

Obesity. If you are overweight or obese, chances are you are consuming foods that are high in added sugars and excess calories from those foods. You can cut calories and begin to lose weight by eliminating sugary food and drinks from your diet. Weight loss has been shown to support improvements in overall health.

High triglycerides. Studies show that consuming sugary food and drink sugar may lead to high triglyceride levels in the blood. These triglycerides can cause damage the lining of your blood vessels, cause blood clots and lead to a heart attack or stroke. By lowering your sugar intake, you may be able to reduce the level of triglycerides in your blood and prevent a cardiovascular event. People with diabetes are especially prone to high levels of triglycerides and should therefore make a special effort to eliminate added sugars from their diet.

Summary
The bad news is, eating foods that contain a large amount of added sugars could lead to obesity, inflammation and a number of other serious health problems. But the good news is, you can lose weight and improve your health by reducing your intake of food and drink made with added sugars. Be especially mindful of the presence of high fructose corn syrup in the foods you buy.