"Get the Sugar Out: 501 Simple Ways to Cut the Sugar Out of Any Diet" by Ann Louise Gittleman (Three Rivers Press, $13.95).
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Nutritionist Ann Louise Gittleman offers tons of practical tips on low-sugar shopping, cooking and dining in "Get the Sugar Out."
Twelve years ago, she wrote, "Get the Sugar Out," revealing that sugar contributes not only to weight gain but also to mood swings, weak immunity, diabetes, cancer and heart disease.
In this updated and revised book, she again looks at health problems caused by sugar, in addition to the pros and cons of artificial sweeteners and the nutritional value of energy bars and exotic fruit juices. She also includes recipes and a week of low-sugar menus.
Gittleman explains that sugar has been linked to 60 different ailments, and even though sugar consumption has decreased in recent years, many sugar substitutes regarded as less-than-healthy have come on the market, such as Splenda, aspartame, sugar alcohols and high-fructose corn syrup.
A chart is included showing that sugar consumption per person, per year in the United States has increased from 22 pounds per person in 1850 to 180 pounds per person in 2006.
So how do you get sugar out of your diet?
"From packaged meats to soups to commercial salt, sugar is in there. It's even hidden in such non-food items as vitamins and mineral supplements, aspirin, prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs and even cosmetics," Gittleman writes.
She advocates being a sugar detective. And then you can discover some of the oddities of sugar usage. For example, did you know that cutting down on salt usage seems to lessen sugar cravings?
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(c) 2008, St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Distributed by Mclatchy-Tribune News Service.