The doctor warned our cholesterol levels were rising, not dangerously so, but rising. No medicines were required, but paying closer attention to our eating habits was advised.
A few years back Sam started eating Cheerios, sometimes oatmeal, for breakfast, causing his cholesterol to drop dramatically. His doctor said it was nothing short of miraculous.
When my cholesterol levels started to rise, even on my meatless menus, I sat in disbelief. The doctor suggested heredity could be the culprit.
Now another family member has reported higher than usual cholesterol levels, and her doctor suggested sugar consumption had a direct relation to rising cholesterol. This was news to me and of little concern for myself since I was sure I regularly consumed low amounts of sugar. I was concerned for Sam who has a mighty strong sweet tooth.
I looked it up on the Internet only to find there was a correlation. I also found a calculator that would convert teaspoons to grams, since the charts recommended sugar consumption in teaspoons but the food labels expressed sugar amounts in grams. The chart said that 1 teaspoon equaled 4 grams of sugar.
Then there was a calculation of grams of sugar related to recommended calorie intake. There is no recommended daily amount of sugar in the U.S., but there are some recommendations on global charts so I used those.
Allowances for sugar came in at between 30-40 grams (female-male) of sugar per day. Then I started checking labels in the pantry, the ones I had previously checked for cholesterol amounts only. The sugar findings were shocking.
My healthy breakfast of granola and yogurt clocked in at 20 grams of sugar. Sam’s “breakfast bars,” that are also his go-to snack, have 13 grams. He regularly eats three or four a day. By 9 a.m. we’ve barely even started our daily food intake and half or more of our sugar allotment is gone.
Other products in the pantry: Spaghetti sauce, 1/2 cup equals 7 grams of sugar; green beans, 1/2 cup equals 1 gram; diced tomatoes, 1/2 cup equals 3 grams. Two tablespoons of peanut butter equals 2 grams, and one slice of wheat bread, 2 grams. These are all considered relatively healthy foods.
On the other hand, all the cheese products, the mayonnaise and the Pringles chips had no sugar grams at all.
When I reported my discovery to Sam, he said, “OK, don’t buy me the snack bars anymore. Just get me peanuts.”
“Well, the peanuts I’ve been buying are honey-roasted, and those have 16 grams per 1/4 cup.”
“OK,” he said, “Just get the plain peanuts.”
“Can I get you the ones you shell yourself, you know the ones in the big bags?”
“No, I don’t want to have to work at it, too.”
All the things you should and shouldn’t eat are disconcerting. The no-shopping resolution, the “Happiness Project” and now no sugar either?
And figure this: You can eat Pringles topped with pimento cheese and a dash of peanuts and have not one gram of sugar.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.