Bottom line
So now that you know more of the facts, what are you going to do about your sugar intake? Hopefully, you'll begin by not fooling yourself into believing you can eat all the sweets you want in the form of fruit or honey. For some people, almost all sweeteners can be harmful in high quantities.

If you crave sweets, make sure you're not skipping meals and that you're getting enough protein. I find that a little protein at each meal keeps blood-sugar levels stable in many people.

To understand how many carbohydrates my patients eat, I have them keep a food diary and circle all carbs in red including fruit, grains, potatoes, beans, desserts, etc. Then I have them circle all proteins in another color. If red predominates, we look at the form and amount they're eating. If your simple sugar intake is too high, lower it and eat more complex carbohydrates. Don't drink much fruit juice and limit your fruit intake to two pieces a day.

A holiday tip
Holidays are not the time to make major dietary changes, so go ahead and eat that sugar cookie your neighbor made. But limit yourself to one or two. Watch your sugar intake, your cravings, and how you feel after you eat sweets. This will help you take steps to reduce your cravings after the holidays are over. The first step in making dietary changes is awareness.

Sweet Alternatives?
Saccharin (Sweet’n Low): This sweetener was placed on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) list of carcinogenic substances in the 1970s. Foods on this list of cancer-causing agents must have a warning on their label stating this. Recently it was removed from this list, but this doesn’t mean saccharin is safe, just that the EPA removed it from the known carcinogens list. Saccharin isn’t known to cause an insulin response, but it has caused cancer in laboratory animals.

Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet): A combination of aspartic acid and phenylalanine, it has been linked to such symptoms as dizziness, loss of balance, headaches, and fatigue. Some people crave more sweets after eating aspartame-sweetened foods and it’s believed to cause an insulin response.

Acesulfame-potassium (Sunnett, Sweet One): This product is made from acetoacetic acid (other- wise known as vinegar) and has a molecular structure similar to saccharin. Has caused cancer in laboratory animals and has not been tested on diabetics.

Stevia: A plant-based sweetener that’s safe, but may have a slightly bitter aftertaste and licorice flavoring if you use too much of it. You can buy stevia powder or liquid in most health food stores. Use a tiny, tiny amount and enjoy the natural sweetness safely.

Sucralose (Splenda): No long-term human studies have been conducted on the safety of this sweetener made from an altered sugar molecule. Three of its molecules are removed in a laboratory and replaced with chlorine molecules. It’s much sweeter than sugar and may be used in cooking.

Sugar alcohol (Mannitol, Sorbitol, Xylitol, Maltitol): Made from carbohydrates, they have about half the carbs as refined sugar. May cause diarrhea and cramps in large quantities. These products do raise blood-sugar levels.

From Lick the Sugar Habit Sugar Counter, Nancy Appleton, PhD. Appleton, Nancy, PhD. Lick the Sugar Habit Sugar Counter, Penguin Putnam, Inc., 2001.

Werbach, Melvyn R., MD. Textbook of Nutritional Medicine, Third Line Press, Inc., Tarzana, CA, 1999.