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Johnson County

Research-based Information You Can Trust — Localized for your needs

Johnson County
11811 S. Sunset Drive
Suite 1500
Olathe, KS 66061

Office Hours:

Monday - Friday,
8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

(913) 715-7000
(913) 715-7005 fax
jo@listserv.ksu.edu

Map to our office

K-State Research and Extension is committed to making its services, activities and programs accessible to all participants. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities may be requested by contacting Johnson County Extension at (913)715-7000. Notify staff of accommodation needs as early as possible.

Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service

K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Reducing Added Sugars Critical for Preventing Diabetes

crealSugar is an ingredient that is in many foods we eat on a regular basis. It is commonly found added to foods like desserts and other baked goods, condiments, salad dressings, cereals, and more. It is also found naturally occurring in fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. On average, American adults consume about 17 teaspoons of added sugar every day. With the federal guidelines liming adult women and men to 6 and 9 teaspoons per day, respectively, it is clear that we are taking in an excessive amount of this substance. Having too much added sugar in the diet can contribute to problems like weight gain, inflammation, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Excessive sugar, particularly added sugar, can be especially harmful to people with diabetes, since their body doesn’t produce enough insulin to be able to fully regulate their blood sugar levels. Here are some tips for individuals with diabetes or prediabetes to help control the amount of added sugars consumed:

Pay attention to beverages.

Drinking sugar-sweetened beverages is one way that lots of added sugar can sneak into your diet. Soda, sports drinks, and sweetened coffees and teas can all have high amounts of added sugar. It’s best to have water as your beverage of choice when you can. Try flavoring your water with slices of fresh fruit or drinking seltzer water.

Read the nutrition label.

The nutrition facts label listed on packaged foods tells us everything we need to know about the nutritional content of that product. It lists the total sugars and added sugars in a product. Pay close attention to the added sugars in a product and try to limit this as much as possible. One quick tip for making a healthy choice is to look for products that contain 5% or less of the % Daily Value of added sugar.

For more information on sugar and how to reduce sugar in our diets to better manage and prevent diabetes, join us for an informational class on Tuesday, April 16th from 6:00-7:00pm. Our class Preventing Diabetes with Simple Lifestyle Changes will be held at the Johnson County Extension Office and will include information on how to control and prevent diabetes as well as a cooking demonstration and taste test of two diabetes-friendly recipes. This class is free of charge however space is limited. Click here to sign up.

Contact us at foodhelp@jocogov.org with any questions or for more information about diabetes and healthy lifestyles.