Sugar? .. Let The Performance Begin!

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

Most of us will recognize that famous reference from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. But only a dentist like me will link it to misconceptions about the sugar content of food. The real meaning of Juliet’s words to her love Romeo is that the importance of a person or thing is what it truly is and NOT what it is called. Put another way, the names of things cannot affect what they actually are. Even if we call a rose by different names, it would always smell the same. Sugar is sugar. We are fully aware that it is bad for us and yet we still give in. Worse yet, we are sold a dream that we now have “healthy” sugar based sweeteners that are organic and therefore more “palatable” (yes, the dentist threw in a pun) to our peace of mind. These healthy sugars are added to foods and then marketed to us as “health foods”. But buyer beware ( I could have said caveat emptor, but that would make me a geek on top of a nerd).

Here are the ingredients to look out for.

1. Raw Organic Cane Sugar- completely identical to regular sugar
2. Evaporated Cane Juice- a “fancy” name for sugar
3. Agave Nectar or Syrup- high in fructose, which is sugar
4. Brown or Yellow Sugar- molasses is added back in after sugar refinement
5. Coconut Sugar- lower glycemic index and still high in sucrose, fructose…but actually the least unhealthy of the bunch due to tiny amounts of finer and nutrients also contained in it.
6. Honey- natural…and yet still sugar
7. Maple Syrup- from a tree…still sugar

Your teeth do not care whether you spent $1 on a candy bar from the corner store or $5 at the organic healthy food store on your healthy protein granola bar…don’t be fooled!

Stay Healthy!