High Triglyerides? Examine your sugar intake.

While we know that eating too much sugar is bad for our waistline, now new research shows that excess sugar can also cause high cholesterol.  Research published in the April 21, 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association strongly associated high sugar intake with elevated triglyceride levels and reduced HDL ("good" cholesterol) levels.  Excess triglycerides contribute to "hardening" of the arteries which then can result in high blood pressure and overtaxing the heart. 

So while the medical community focused on fats in the diet to control cholesterol levels, this new research demonstrates how excess sugar can also contribute to high cholesterol.  When sugar is processed in the liver, the extra sugar is converted to fat.  Sugar forms the backbone of triglycerides. 

Amercians get nearly 16% of our total calories from added sugars, significantly up from 10.6% in 1977-78.  To give you an idea of how much sugar that is, the average sugar consumption is 90 grams of added sugar or 21.4 teaspoons per day.  Much of the rise is due to the hidden sugars in processed foods.

There is some good news in all of this and that is triglyceride levels can come down relatively quickly just by reducing the amount of sugar consumed.  There's hope that new packaging is on the horizon that will separate out added sugars from sugars found naturally in foods (such as fruit and milk). In the meantime, read the ingredient list on foods and look for these added sugars:

• high fructose corn syrup
• corn syrup
• dextrose
• maltodextrin
• fruit juice concentrates
• malt syrup
• molasses
• brown sugar
• invert sugar
• honey
• sorphum
• cane sugar

Finally, the optimal way to control your sugar intake is to limit foods with added sugars.  Here are some ideas that you may want to incorporate into your life.

• Instead of sugar in your cereals or on top, use cut-up fresh fruit
• Sweeten your oatmeal with mashed up banana, cinnamon, and/or raisins
• Look for bottled spaghetti sauce without added sugars
• Swap out soft drinks for iced tea, diet sodas, sparkling water, etc.
• Switch from regular jelly to low-sugar or all-fruit varieties.