Our body requires carbohydrates, which are broken down into glucose for our body to use as fuel.

Our bodies can make fuel from fat and protein, but the most efficient source of glucose is
carbohydrates.

There are different types of carbohydrates that have different effects on our bodies. Simple
carbohydrates or sugars (like those found in candy), are quickly absorbed by the body and give an
immediate burst of energy, usually followed by fatigue when the energy source is depleted. Other
than providing energy, sugar has no nutritional value. On the other hand, complex carbohydrates
(found in whole grain cereals or breads) still contain the vitamins and minerals naturally found in the
grain, are higher in fiber and slowly digested.

There is too much sugar in the North American diet. It is estimated that Canadians consume more
than 13 percent of total calorie intake from added sugars. However, the World Health Organization
recommends that no more than about 5 percent of our total daily calories (6 teaspoons of sugar)
should come from added sugars which don’t naturally occur in food.

Where is it all coming from?

Myth: Fruit has too much sugar to be healthy.

Fruit is healthy. It does have natural sugars but it also has a lot of fiber,
vitamins, and minerals that are needed for good health. Enjoy fruits and
vegetables fresh, frozen, or canned each day.
Sugar can be found naturally in some foods like milk, and fruit. These foods shouldn’t be avoided
because they also contain nutrients the body needs which is important. However, many sources of
sugar in our diet are added to food.

Did you know? Sugar-sweetened beverages (eg. soft drinks) are the main culprit for excess sugar
consumption. Aim to limit these foods that are high in added sugar and low in nutrients.

Where it gets really tricky is when sugar is added to foods that most people assume are healthy.
Foods like fruit drinks, granola bars, yogurt, and cereal can be the biggest culprits behind hidden
added sugar. To avoid eating added sugars make sure to carefully read the Nutrition Facts Label and
ingredients list. Look for cereals with less than 12 grams of sugar in them and dairy products with
less than 26 grams of sugar per serving. To avoid added sugar in fruit drinks, look for juice that
doesn’t list sugar as an ingredient.

Sugar and its Aliases

Extra sugar may be added into your food, but can you tell where? A simple glance over the
ingredients list may not reveal how much sugar has been added to food. These are just some of the
names for sugar:

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)* or Glucose-Fructose

Dextrose

Fruit Juice Concentrate

Honey

Fructose; Lactose; Maltose

Corn Syrup

Organic raw sugar

Cane Juice/Sugar

Granulated White Sugar

Molasses

Sucrose

Brown Sugar

*You may have heard some of the controversy surrounding High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). HFCS is
a liquid sweetener which is used as a cheaper alternative to sweetening with sucrose (aka table
sugar). It has been questioned whether HFCS is to blame for the increased obesity rates, but a
definite answer cannot be provided with current information. High Fructose Corn Syrup has almost
the same fructose-glucose sugar composition as natural sweeteners such as honey, syrup, and table
sugar. It is possible that the excess calories that come from added sugar are the problem, not the
specific type of sugar being used. Other possible health out-comes (dyslipidemia, high blood
pressure, chronic disease risk) in relation to consuming HFCS are also being looked at.

How much do you know about sugar?

Which one contains more added sugar?
Fruit Juice or Fruit Drink?

Fruit Drinks (aka cocktail, punch, beverage) are generally made from water, flavouring, and added
sugar with no real fruit, and therefore no nutrition. Fruit juice is made with the unsweetened juice
from real fruit. Canada’s Food Guide says 1/2 cup of fruit juice contains 1 serving of vegetables and
fruit.

Bottomline: Choose vegetables and fruit more than juice, and try to satisfy your thirst with water or
milk.

“Double double” Coffee or Chocolate Dip Donut?

A ‘double double’ coffee from Tim Hortons has more added sugar than a chocolate dip donut. The
donut has 10g of sugar while the cream and sugar in the cof-fee almost doubles it with 18g of added
sugar. This does not mean that donuts are any better for your health than coffee, but you may want
to think twice about how you order your drive-thru coffee

Bottomline: Try drinking coffee black, or with milk and sweetener instead of with sugar and cream.

Granola or Lucky Charms cereal?

They are the same! Most brands of granola have about 10g of added sugar per granola bar, which is
equal to one serving (3/4 C) of Lucky Charms cereal which also has 10g of added sugar. Granola may
have more nutrition than Lucky Charms or other sugary cereals (for example more fiber) but don’t
be fooled, they both are packed with sugar.

Bottomline: Choose whole grain high fiber cereals for a nutritious breakfast, and enjoy granola in
small amounts.

Ketchup or Peanut butter?

Peanut butter actually contains less sugar than ketchup! Ketchup lists liquid sugar as its third
ingredient, while natural peanut butter contains no added sugar. However, some peanut butter is
sweetened to provide a flavour (eg. honey, chocolate, etc.) or replace fat that was removed in the
‘light’ versions. When choosing peanut butters look for natural, or unsweetened, and unsalted.

Bottomline: Be mindful when using condiments because each tablespoon can add up quickly.

Tips for avoiding added sugar

Limit…

foods which list sugar as its first, second or third ingredient

candy, chocolate, and other sweets high in added sugar.

coffee drinks with flavoured syrup and sweet toppings.

the amount of sugar you add to things you eat or drink like cereal, pancakes, coffee, and tea. Try
cutting the usual amount of sugar by half and wean down from there.

Try This…

Look for breakfast cereals that contains less than 12 grams of sugar and more than 4 grams of fiber
per serving. Add fresh and dried fruit to cereal instead of sugar.

Drink more milk and water and less fruit beverages, pop and alcohol.

Opt for reduced-sugar syrups, jams, and jellies, and use within reason.

Snack on vegetables, fruit, low-fat cheese, and whole-grain crackers more often than pastries and
cookies.
Enhance foods with spices instead of sugar; try ginger, cinnamon or nutmeg.

What about artificial sweeteners?

Artificial sweeteners are an alternative to sweetening with sugar. Most are considered calorie-free
because they are very sweet and only a little is needed. There are a number of different artificial
sweeteners available. They are sold as table-top sweeteners, home baking ingredients or in
commercial products such as baked goods, soft drinks and candy.

Artificial sweeteners can be used by dieters to replace sugar. Since artificial sweeteners generally
contain less calories than sugar, they may help lower caloric intake which may lead to weight loss.
This might not be the case though as many artificial sweeteners are used in combination with others
sweetened products, making it difficult to assess if artificial sweeteners contribute to weight loss.
Artificial sweeteners can also be used by people with diabetes who need to watch their blood
sugar.

Bottom line: There is more and more evidence that suggests that sugar substitutes are not a healthy
choice. Use real sugar, but use less!

Fact or Fiction?
1. Don't eat after supper:

Fiction! The reasoning behind why we shouldn’t eat after certain hours usually involve the
belief that many people get hungry after supper and snack on unhealthy foods.The truth is,
though, anything that we eat in excess has the potential to be converted to fat. So, it’s not a
matter of when we eat more than a matter of what and how much we eat. Therefore, if you
feel hungry go ahead and have an evening snack. Just remember to be mindful of what you’re
eating and how much of it you’re eating. Tip: To help deal with feeling hungry too soon after
a meal, try increasing the fibre content of your meal while ensuring adequate protein to help
you feel full longer. To improve your fibre intake, try to add more fresh vegetables and fruit,
legumes (i.e. beans, peas, lentils, etc.) and whole grains into your meals.
2.Eat five small meals a day (Graze throughout your day, don't have large
meals):

Fiction! Some believe that having many meals or grazing throughout the day will keep your
metabolism (the rate in which you burn calories) going all day, and therefore burn off more
calories. It’s fine to have small meals throughout your day, because it can help prevent from
you from getting too hungry which can lead to overeating. Your metabolism involves a
variety of factors such as gender, age, amount of muscle, and the amount of exercise you do,
and so grazing throughout the day is not going to make a huge difference on your metabolism.
3. “Multi-grain” is not the same as “whole grain”:
Fact! Multi-grain is not always whole grain, it may just have different types of grains. Whole
grains are the most nutritious, look for “whole grains” as the first ingredient in the ingredients
list. At least half of grain products should be whole grain each day!
4. Eat raw foods or juice to cleanse your body and lose weight:

Fiction! Cleansing is one of the newest nutrition and alternative therapies on the markets but
it isn’t reliable. Cleansing is based on the belief that one will lose weight or improve health
by removing toxins from the body. It may involve any combination of: fasting, juicing, herbal
supplementation, herbal teas, raw food diets. While avoiding processed food is always a good
decision when it comes to healthy food habits, it should be done for the purpose of reducing
the amount of sugar, sodium, and saturated and trans fat in the diet, and not to ‘cleanse’ your
body. We have complex body systems and organs to handle that. The best cleanse remains:
eat a balanced diet with veggies, fruit and whole grains, grab water more often, get regular
exercise and relax doing the things you really enjoy.
5. Eat breakfast everyday:

Fact! There are many reasons why eating breakfast everyday is good for you! It provides
energy at the start of the day, improves brain function, has a positive impact on weight, and
it’s just plain delicious. Many people find it hard to eat right after waking up, but breakfast
doesn’t need to be eaten within half an hour of waking. Even if the first time you eat is an
hour or two after getting out of bed, it still can still count as breakfast and is a good start to
the day! Enjoy a balanced breakfast with (ie. whole grains and protein) to start your day off
right. Some great healthy and filling breakfast examples are eggs with whole grain toast, or
oatmeal with fruit and milk.
6. Don’t eat carbohydrates because they are fattening (Or eat meals high in
protein because it’ll make you lose weight):

Fiction! There are people out there that still believe “carbohydrates are evil” and that a diet
high in protein is the path to weight loss. It should be understood that if you take in more
calories than you burn, then weight gain will occur – it doesn’t matter if you’re on a high
carbohydrate, protein, or fat diet. Carbohydrate food sources provide our bodies with energy,
essential vitamins, minerals, and fibre. By cutting out carbohydrates, we are more likely to
feel tired, irritable, and moody.

How to Make the Your Own Healthy

Decisions
Nutrition information is everywhere offering the “latest” and the “greatest” advice. It can be
overwhelming and daunting as we try to decipher which information is accurate and reliable.
Do your Homework and Question EVERYTHING

For more information on evaluating sources of information check out

the online interactive tool: www.trustortrash.org
How current is the information?

Aim for sources published within the last ten years.

Who wrote it?

A business, a government agency, the media, a non-profit organization and/or an individual

will all have different reasons for presenting nutritional information. If their reason is to sell a
product, you may want to question how reliable their information is.

What is the purpose of the information?

Sources that promote discussion and offer education are usually more reliable than those
trying to sell you something.

What are the author credentials?

Look into the author's formal educational training to determine his/her qualifications. Also
consider whether those qualifications relate to the given information. Government agencies
are generally quite reputable and trustworthy.

Is the information consistent with other sources?

Compare different authors to see if the nutritional advice is repeated and widely accepted.

Is scientific evidence used to support the argument?

If nutrition information is supported by positive scientific research, it makes the argument

that much stronger and more reliable.

Are there any red flags?

Red flags are indicators of poor nutritional claims. Some examples include:

 Quick and Dramatic Results

 Traditional uses
 Breakthrough
 Miracle product
 No side effects
 Cures most ailments
 Completely natural
 Guaranteed or your money back

An illustration: What's the dirt on “Cleansing"

There are a variety of resources available with information about cleansing. A popular one is
the website is Just Cleansing (http://www.justcleansing.com/). After some investigation on
their website, come back and evaluate it for yourself:

How current is the Information?

The website has no copyright date; therefore, the information cannot be evaluated for being
up-to-date. However some of the articles were written in 2012 and 2013 so the information is
somewhat recent.

Who Wrote it?

The author is a company based out of Hong Kong called Atlantic Health Ltd. The site offers
no background information.

What is the purpose of the information?

The intent is to offer free information about cleansing for people who want to eliminate
toxins from their bodies. Atlantic Health Ltd. does not sell anything directly but there are
advertisements for various cleanse-related products sold elsewhere.

What are the author's credentials?

Not available directly on the site. A quick search of the internet also came up empty.

Does the author provide alternative views?

No, they solely promote different types of cleanses.

Is the information consistent with other sources?

Other websites that provide cleansing information or sell cleansing products are consistent
with the advice offered at Just Cleansing.

Is scientific evidence used to support the argument?

No. They offer each health claim in detail but there are no scientific sources cited nor are
there any links for readers to learn more.

Are there any red flags?

Yes...detoxify, poisons, toxins, chemicals, pollutants, hormones and clean-out, just to name a
few.
 Putting Knowledge into Practice
Now try this yourself with:

 Vitamin water
 Coconut oil
 Protein powders
 Raspberry Ketones

Compared with participants who ate milk chocolate, those

who had dark chocolate performed 40 percent better on
small-letter vision tests.
By Janissa Delzo
 Eating Dark Chocolate May Improve Your Vision, Research Suggests

Dark chocolate contains flavonols, which research suggests may help boost eyesight.

May 1, 2018

As we continue to strain our eyes on our phones, TVs, and other screens, finding new ways to
improve vision is critical. While some of us might not be a fan of carrots, a new study
suggests a much sweeter treat may boost vision: dark chocolate.

Previous findings suggest that chocolate rich in flavonols — a group of related compounds —
could improve blood flow in the heart and brain, but an optometrist and his colleagues from
the University of the Incarnate Word in Texas wanted to find out if it could benefit eyesight,
too.

Although the research doesn’t suggest replacing a balanced diet with sweets, it’s still a bit of
encouraging news for those who enjoy dark chocolate. In the study, published April 26, 2018,
in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology, a trio of researchers examined the effects of eating milk
chocolate versus dark chocolate on various aspects of vision, including visual acuity (how
sharp your vision is) and contrast sensitivity (ability to distinguish objects from their
background).

To test out the two types of chocolate, 30 healthy adults, a majority whom were female and in
their mid-twenties, were given a Trader Joe’s Crispy Rice Milk Chocolate bar, and, a few
days later, a Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate bar. The study was single-blind, meaning the
participants themselves were not told which type of chocolate they were given. If you’ve had
dark chocolate, though — particularly one that’s 72 percent cacao, what the participants had,
or higher — you’d know it’s very easy to tell apart its bitter taste from more sugary milk
chocolate. But the authors don’t feel this influenced the study, considering the participants
weren’t informed of the intent of the research.

After eating each type of chocolate, the participants completed a number of vision exams.
Two hours after eating the dark chocolate, they had an improvement in small-letter contrast
sensitivity.
“Normally there are black letters on a white background and the letters get smaller,” lead
study author Jeff Rabin, PhD, a professor at the University of the Incarnate Word Rosenberg
School of Optometry in San Antonio, Texas, says, explaining the typical eye chart at doctor’s
offices. “With contrast sensitivity, the brightness of the letter increases until it’s eventually
very difficult to see, so that’s what we were measuring using small letters.”

Results of the small-letter test revealed that participants had improved eyesight that translated
to about 40 percent, Dr. Rabin says, which he explains is comparable to using two eyes
versus one.

The improvement is notable, but it’s also important to point out the small sample size of
participants. Additionally, the authors failed to address sugar intake, says Andrew
Morgenstern, doctor of optometry, fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and
diplomate in the American Board of Optometry, based in Chevy Chase, Maryland, who was
not involved in the study. A review published in September 2015 in the journal Critical
Reviews in Clinical Laboratory Sciences suggested eating too much sugar is linked to obesity,
heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.

“Diabetes is rampant in today’s population, and obviously the short-term effect of eating
chocolate is one thing,” Dr. Morgenstern says. “While it might give them a short-term boost
in visual acuity, what happens in the long term? That would be the caveat. Dietary intake has
to be addressed.”

Rabin and his coauthors urge that they don’t mean we should all pick up a bar of chocolate if
we’re hoping to have sharp eyesight.

“This is not anywhere near prescription. This is very early, and it’s a very small effect,” says
Rabin. “I don’t know the duration of the effect or long-term effects on vision — that awaits
further study.”

And that’s not the only good news for dark chocolate. It may also help reduce stress and
inflammation, suggests findings from two studies presented at the Experimental Biology
2018 annual meeting in San Diego, which has yet to be published in a peer-reviewed
journal. Lee Berk, doctor of public health and professor at Loma Linda University in
California, found that human subjects who consumed chocolate with high cacao content had a
short-term improvement in brain function and cellular response. But just like the previous
study, Dr. Berk’s experiments also had an extremely small sample size — 10 participants
total.

“Research such as this [on chocolate], while it is sometimes entertaining, is just as valuable
as research that we consider more important, such as cancer research, because we never know
where answers to everyday health problems are going to come from,” Morgenstern says.