Kicking the sugar addiction while still satisfying a sweet tooth

Are you or someone you know addicted to sugar? Feel the need to have that afternoon candy bar?

Dr. Jonny Bowden, known as The Nutrition Mythbuster, visited the ABC7 studio to talk about how to kick the sugar addiction while still satisfying your sweet tooth.

WHY IS SUGAR SO BAD?

Not only is sugar bad for your waistline, but it is also a huge cause of inflammation.

Monthly and yearly added sugar consumption totals are good for shock value, but we need to focus on the daily intake.

FDA recommends added sugar should account for no more than 10 percent of daily calories. The average American consumes 19.5 teaspoons (82 grams) every day -- that translates into about 66 pounds of added sugar consumed each year, per person.

In addition to diabetes and obesity, sugar is linked to other serious diseases including cancer and heart disease.

HOW TO REDUCE DAILY SUGAR INTAKE?

Sugar is hidden in the places you would least expect, which means Fruit Loops should be replaced with Honey Bunches of Oats cereal.

Artificial sweeteners are no better. One good sugar substitute you can use in both drinks and baked goods that actually tastes good is organic stevia.

If a sugar substitute doesn't taste equal or greater than the full sugar version, no one will eat it.

ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER VS. ALTERNATIVE SWEETENER

Most of us can easily taste the difference when one of those artificial sweeteners or even some of the natural sweeteners is used instead of the real thing. Artificial sweeteners are dangerous for your health, and can cause more harm than good.

Sweeteners have evolved. Stevia, for example, originally tasted bitter. But not anymore. There are many varieties of stevia, just as there are many varieties of wine.

Stevia is about 200 times sweeter than sugar. You need a very tiny amount to get the same sweetness. But if you're sweetening your coffee or iced tea, it's hard to measure out 1/200th of a teaspoon! So companies blend the stevia with other bulking agents. It really matters what companies blend it with, because that has a direct effect on how it tastes.

For more information, visit www.jonnybowden.com