Explicit sugar

What do hot dog rolls, tomato sauce, and frozen pizza all have in common? Sugar. That's right. In many brands of these foods, and hundreds of others, there's hidden sugar. Now, I ask you, when you're craving pizza, is it because you're in the mood for something sweet? I don't think so.

Sugar. That's right. In many brands of these foods, and hundreds of others, there's hidden sugar. Now, I ask you, when you're craving pizza, is it because you're in the mood for something sweet? I don't think so.

As a normal eater, and watching other former diet addicts try to find their way, I've been noodling on the whole issue of sugar in our diets.

I think I've come up with something, which at the very least applies perfectly to me. Therefore, it probably applies to some of you as well.

Some of you have found you're better off with no sugar at all. No sweets, no desserts. If that works for you, then it might be precisely what your body needs.

Others of you, though, seem to never be able to go "off" the sugar. Abstinence from sugar eventually leads you to a full-blown binge.

Or you find that you cannot regulate it. If you're "on" sugar, you eat too much of it. It may be that your body would like a little sugar everyday, if for no other reason than the psychological pleasure it brings. A little sugar everyday does not make anybody obese. So, why is it so hard to achieve a little sugar everyday?

For myself, I like the idea of a little bit of sweets everyday. But I, too, found that my sweets were increasing over time. Then, about a year ago, I thought of something new.

I wondered whether the problem wasn't so much the explicit sugar, as in "I'd like a piece of cheesecake now." Perhaps the problem was the sugar when I didn't want it.

Many of our packaged, processed foods contain sugar in the form of dextrose, corn syrup, cane, and so on. All of it is just sugar.

I started to wonder whether, with all that sugar in my food when I wasn't looking for dessert, I was overloading my body with sugar to such a degree that I'd developed a tolerance to it. Perhaps the overload corrupted my ability to sense the right amounts for me. After all, I was eating so much hidden sugar that I probably had no need for dessert. But I still wanted dessert!

So for the past year, I've been watching out for hidden sugar. It's easiest to do, of course, with home cooking, but with a little vigilance, I think I've greatly reduced my consumption of hidden sugar.

I found potato latkes with no added sugar. I found tomato sauce with no added sugar. I found frozen pizza with no added sugar. Whole wheat bread without sugar. Corn muffins, hot dog rolls, potato chips...the list goes on and on. And what about the ketchup on that burger? Well, add it it if you crave something sweet on your burger. Otherwise, don't.

You know what happened? Now, onions taste sweet. Now, I even like my Cheerios without extra sugar.

Now when I drink tea, I add one teaspoon of sugar, not two. Why? I don't have such a high tolerance to it.

Now, when I eat ice cream, I don't always crave sweet syrup drizzled on it. When I do eat something sweet because I want to, it doesn't have to be as sweet as it did, setting it apart from my dinner. Now it's set apart enough, because dinner had no hidden sugar.

Eating less sugar leads to eating less sugar. But where do you draw the line? For me, it's easier than I thought. I just make sure I am eating sugar only when I really want it. When it's explicit.

Unlike other addictions, we can't simply stop eating. There are no clear lines about amount, degree, or type. But I may have found at least one thing that's pretty simple and clear cut.

I'll have a cup of tea, please, with one rounded teaspoon of explicit sugar.