Sweet talk: the truth about sugar.(campaign to have food industry disclose added sugars on products' nutrition labels)

More and more, added sugars are finding their way into America's diet, and consuming these added calories may have serious consequences. Side effects associated with sugar consumption range from cavities to diabetes, although arguments exist in the food and science communities about this. "The evidence indicates that sugar is not in itself associated with ... chronic diseases and is not the sole offender in the development of dental caries," according to Anne L. Mardis, MD, MPH, of the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. "Despite having been labeled as 'empty calories' sugars are important compounds from the perspective of the human organism."

Hidden Calories

Every food ingested is broken down into simple sugars for cellular uptake and use as energy. In this aspect, sugar is essential for human life and function. However, when more calories (or energy) are consumed than expended, weight gain is the result. The countless Americans who fight the battle of the bulge on a daily basis may be inadvertently sabotaging themselves by consuming added sugars--and the extra calories they entail--in some seemingly innocuous places.

Juice, yogurt and pasta sauce can contain added sugars, which seem to be at least partially responsible for the ever-expanding waistline of the American public. (According to the most recent report by the surgeon general, approximately 61 percent of Americans are overweight.)

"Our supermarket shelves are filled with products labeled as 'healthy' that contain more sugar than the USDA [US Department of Agriculture] recommends for daily allowance," says Seth Goldman, TeaEO of Bethesda, Maryland-based Honest Tea. "Added sugars displace 'healthy calories' from nutritious foods, so Americans are consuming more calories from less nutritious foods."

Sweet Enough

The USDA recommends that, in an average diet of 1,600 calorics per day, people consume no more than 40 grams (10 teaspoons) of added sugars per day. Typical Americans, however, consume about 32 teaspoons of sugar every day--about 103 pounds per person per year--according to the Life Is Sweet Enough campaign.