We eat a lot of sugar. The USDA reports that we consume an average of 152 pounds of sugars per year, (including corn syrup and other caloric sweeteners) which averages about 750 calories daily. To put that into perspective, visualize yourself stopping your cart at the baking aisle in the supermarket, and loading it with 31 five-pound bags of white sugar. That is what we consume.

Soda, candy, cakes and cookies -- these are obvious -- we all know they’re sugary. But, "hidden sugars" are far more insidious and omnipresent in the American diet. And unless you’re a label reader or conscientious consumer, you may not be aware that the products you’re eating contain excess sugar.

All Americans should reduce their sugar consumption. Research links excess sugar consumption to obesity. The February 17, 2001 issue of the journal Lancet published a study showing that soda and sweetened beverages impact children’s body weight. For each additional daily serving of sugary soda, obesity was doubled. A report published in the August 25, 2004, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association links increased weight gain and type 2 diabetes to consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages.

The reason Americans are almost forced to consume so much sugar is that it’s used in so many products, in different ways. It’s kind of like the "Where’s Waldo" game, which teaches children how to concentrate by finding the hidden character in a photograph crammed with dozens of images. Consumers are challenged to find hidden sugars, to decipher the listed ingredients and discover the "real" ingredients.

HERE'S SOME CLASSIFICATIONS THAT MAY HELP:

.Natural sugars: brown sugar, raw sugar, rice syrup, honey, maple syrup, molasses

.Corn sweeteners: corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup

.All the juices: fruit juice concentrate; apple juice, pear juice, pineapple juice

.All the "-ose" sugars: dextrose, sucrose, maltose, fructose

.Other: malt, carob, ALCOHOL SUGAR SUBSTITUTES such as mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol, lactitol, isomalt, maltitol and hydrogenated starch hydrolysates (HSH), normally used in diet food

Sugar is found in the obvious foods; ice cream, candy, cakes and cookies; cereals are coated with sugar, but are also full of fruit juice concentrate; ketchup is 33 percent fructose; hot dogs contain dextrose, canned beans maple syrup and fructose; kids' snacks are especially sweet -- fruit roll-ups contain fruit flavor -- no fruit. You can tell the difference when you read the label between a "real food" and one with lots of sugar. Be serious about finding sugar in it's many hiding places and have some fun reading labels.

The diet food industry is not always helpful. Many of the diet bars and shakes contain added sugars and too much sugar alcohols, and some contain trans fat, the worst kind of fat, known to raise "bad" LDL cholesterol and lower "good" HDL cholesterol. Some manufacturers' products contain no trans fats, no added sugar and no more than 10 grams of sugar alcohol (non-nutritive sweetener) per serving. Hopefully soon, we’ll be able to read the grams of trans fat in every product. But until then, avoid products containing "hydrogenated fat."

Whether you’re on a low-carb plan, or just trying to stay healthy, avoid products with added sugars, unless you’re choosing a product that’s supposed to be sweet, such as a cookie or sweetened dessert item. Natural sugars are recognized by the body in the same way as manufactured sugars. Whether it’s honey, fruit juice concentrate or maple syrup... or corn syrup, white sugar or fructose, in excess it’s quickly stored as fat.

Choose carbs with care. You need carbohydrates for energy, for vitamins and minerals, and for fiber. A good diet, supervised by your doctor, should gradually increase your intake of healthy carbs with fiber, including berries, unpeeled fruit, vegetables and whole grains. These have a smaller impact on blood sugar because they take longer to be metabolized and absorbed.

This information is not intended to be a substitute for a doctor's care, and should not be applied as such. For further information about diabetes, I suggest Joslin/Harvard Medical's website http://joslin.org/LearnAboutDiabetes_Index_home