Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

How Much Sugar Do You Have Each Day?

Aired March 05, 2003 - 06:52   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Turning to your health now, how much sugar do you have each day? Well, a new report suggests most of us eat way too much sugar.
Joining us from New York with the scoop on sugar, Lisa Drayer of Dietwatch.com.

Good morning.

LISA DRAYER, NUTRITIONIST: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: So, should we be taking this sugar warning with a grain of salt?

DRAYER: Well, I would say a grain of sugar. But the truth is a little bit of sugar does go a long way. We're now being told to limit our calories from added sugars, that is, added during processing, to only 10 percent of calories.

Now, we're talking if you drink just a can of Coke, OK, that can push you over your daily limit. A can has 39 grams of these added sugars.

COSTELLO: You're kidding?

DRAYER: Absolutely. It trans...

COSTELLO: So how can you possibly follow that guideline?

DRAYER: Well, it is tricky because sugar adds a lot of calories and it adds up very quickly. Now, we can look at food labels. But it gets tricky because the labels only give us total grams of sugar. It doesn't distinguish between sugars that are naturally present in foods, such as those in fruit and in milk, and those that are added during processing. But generally speak, we're talking about candy, sodas, sweetened cereals and also fruit drinks that have less than 10 percent juice.

Also, you can look at the ingredient lists and if you see like high fructose corn syrup and even honey, then you know that there is a lot of added sugars in the foods.

COSTELLO: Got you. So...

DRAYER: You can also look for claims, like no added sugar means there is none, and reduced and less sugar means 25 percent less sugar than in other products. COSTELLO: So I see you have a list of foods for us. Are these good foods or bad foods as far as sugar is concerned?

DRAYER: Well, actually, the foods and in these portions will actually give you 10 percent of your calories. This is what's the new recommendation now. This is what will cause you to max out. So, for example, when we're talking cereals, we're talking two and a half cups of Apple Jacks, two and a quarter cups of Frosted Flakes, just two tablespoons of honey when you add that in your tea be careful, three tablespoons of maple syrup, so watch how much you pour on your pancakes.

And then we get to Snack Wells. They're fat free, but sugar is the first ingredient. So just five Snack Wells' devils food cookie cakes will cause you to max out. Also, 10 ounces of Minute Maid fruit punch and one and a half cups of Breyer's ice cream.

So any one of those will cause you to max out on that 10 percent, if you're following 1,500 calories. If you're on a 2,000 calorie diet, it will still give you eight percent of your daily sugar needs.

COSTELLO: That's just crazy. I don't know how anyone could possibly follow that. But we'll try, for you, Lisa.

DRAYER: OK.

COSTELLO: Thanks very much.

DRAYER: OK, thanks.

COSTELLO: Thanks for joining us this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired March 5, 2003 - 06:52   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Turning to your health now, how much sugar do you have each day? Well, a new report suggests most of us eat way too much sugar.
Joining us from New York with the scoop on sugar, Lisa Drayer of Dietwatch.com.

Good morning.

LISA DRAYER, NUTRITIONIST: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: So, should we be taking this sugar warning with a grain of salt?

DRAYER: Well, I would say a grain of sugar. But the truth is a little bit of sugar does go a long way. We're now being told to limit our calories from added sugars, that is, added during processing, to only 10 percent of calories.

Now, we're talking if you drink just a can of Coke, OK, that can push you over your daily limit. A can has 39 grams of these added sugars.

COSTELLO: You're kidding?

DRAYER: Absolutely. It trans...

COSTELLO: So how can you possibly follow that guideline?

DRAYER: Well, it is tricky because sugar adds a lot of calories and it adds up very quickly. Now, we can look at food labels. But it gets tricky because the labels only give us total grams of sugar. It doesn't distinguish between sugars that are naturally present in foods, such as those in fruit and in milk, and those that are added during processing. But generally speak, we're talking about candy, sodas, sweetened cereals and also fruit drinks that have less than 10 percent juice.

Also, you can look at the ingredient lists and if you see like high fructose corn syrup and even honey, then you know that there is a lot of added sugars in the foods.

COSTELLO: Got you. So...

DRAYER: You can also look for claims, like no added sugar means there is none, and reduced and less sugar means 25 percent less sugar than in other products. COSTELLO: So I see you have a list of foods for us. Are these good foods or bad foods as far as sugar is concerned?

DRAYER: Well, actually, the foods and in these portions will actually give you 10 percent of your calories. This is what's the new recommendation now. This is what will cause you to max out. So, for example, when we're talking cereals, we're talking two and a half cups of Apple Jacks, two and a quarter cups of Frosted Flakes, just two tablespoons of honey when you add that in your tea be careful, three tablespoons of maple syrup, so watch how much you pour on your pancakes.

And then we get to Snack Wells. They're fat free, but sugar is the first ingredient. So just five Snack Wells' devils food cookie cakes will cause you to max out. Also, 10 ounces of Minute Maid fruit punch and one and a half cups of Breyer's ice cream.

So any one of those will cause you to max out on that 10 percent, if you're following 1,500 calories. If you're on a 2,000 calorie diet, it will still give you eight percent of your daily sugar needs.

COSTELLO: That's just crazy. I don't know how anyone could possibly follow that. But we'll try, for you, Lisa.

DRAYER: OK.

COSTELLO: Thanks very much.

DRAYER: OK, thanks.

COSTELLO: Thanks for joining us this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com