RealAge Tip of the DAY for March 6, 2007

Why Sugar Is Not Always Sweet

If it tastes good, it must be bad for you, right? Well, not always, but in this case the answer is yes.

Love your Lucky Charms? Can't give up your Cocoa Puffs? It's time to tame your taste buds. Eating 5 to 7 teaspoons of sugar a day -- whether it's called honey or sucrose, whether it's in soft drinks or doughnuts -- ups your risk of pancreatic cancer by 70 percent. Check labels and skip foods that give sugar star billing. Watch out for these hidden sources of added sugar.


Cakes, pastries, cookies, ice cream -- some foods just scream sugar. Others -- from salad dressing to ketchup -- aren't so obvious. Good rule of thumb: If it's processed and comes out of a can, jar, bottle, or box, there's a good chance it contains sugar. So get into the habit of checking labels. If you see sugar or its many aliases (pretty much anything that ends in "ose," such as sucrose, dextrose, maltose, and high-fructose corn syrup) near the top of the ingredients list, you might as well be eating it straight from the sugar bowl.

The danger? Excess sugar puts your pancreas into overdrive, forcing it to crank out massive amounts of insulin to process all that glucose in your blood. And continuously high blood sugar and insulin levels -- the kind you get when your day is filled with sweet snacks and sugary drinks -- can damage your pancreas in ways that invite cancer.