Download Outline - your own free website

Phoenix House: Sugar Presentation
Introduction and Climate Setting
Introduce ourselves as KSC Interns.
Today we are going to talk about sugar.
Timeframe (about 45 minutes), tell the audience to ask questions at any time, feel free to move
around.
Pretest
Objectives:
By the end of the presentation clients will be able to
-
Define sugar and describe the roles in the body
Identify 3 different names for sugar in food products
List 2 negative health effects of added sugar on the body
Name 3 sugar substitutes
Identify 3 tactics for decreasing added sugar
Icebreaker activity: Short story (clients work in pairs, get a story, circle the food items that
contain added sugar and match the sugar content).
What is sugar?
Sugar is a simple carbohydrate. Carbohydrates, aka glucose are the brain’s main energy source.
They break down quickly in the digestive tract and are easily absorbed. They are crucial for
energy, growth, muscle function, and regulation of body temperature.
Carbohydrates are broken down to glucose in the digestive system and enter the blood stream.
The level of blood glucose rises. The pancreas secretes a hormone called insulin to help keep
blood glucose within normal levels. Insulin helps the body to process glucose. For example:
insulin helps the muscle cells to take in glucose and produce energy, making it possible for the
muscle to move.
What happens if the body does not need “quick energy”? When excess carbohydrates are
consumed they are stored as glycogen. This is the bodys first energy/short-term energy store.
However, once our glycogen stores are full, excess energy (calories) is converted to fat and
stored in our fat cells.
Demo:
Place a small cup into a medium cup. Place the cups into a larger bowl. Pour water into the small
cup. Explain that this represents glucose from the carbohydrates that we eat that are available for
short term energy. Once the small cup is filled, water flows into the medium cup. This cup
represents our glycogen stores. Continue to fill the cups with water. Once glycogen stores are
full, it overflows into the larger bowl (our fat cells).
When we need energy, our body first uses the sugar in our bloodstream, then the glycogen.
Finally, it uses the energy stored in our fat cells. However, it takes a lot of activity to tap into
these stores!
(transition) this mechanism works for all carbohydrates, but in our food we have
Natural sugar – added sugar:
Ask audience for examples of both.
Sugar names:
Sugar sneaks into our food under many different names:
(list on cards and on flip chart)
Label activity:
Pass out labels to clients. Ask if they see any of these names on their products.
(We could make this into a little competition, which group finds the most “sugar names” in x
minutes.)
Discuss how the order of ingredients reflects the proportion of that ingredient in the food.
Remind about the grams of sugar (4g = 1 teaspoon).
Explain that if there are grams of sugar on the label, but not in the ingredients list, then the
product probably has natural sugars.
Transition: We have seen that sugar can be in many products, sometimes even under different
names. How does this add up?
How does our sugar consumption look like?
Ask audience:
How much added sugar does the average American eat every day:
(give them 3 choices, show them) The average American eats 22 tsp of added sugar every day,
(that is 89 g). Remind them how much sugar is 1 teaspoon. (And this amount adds up to 355
kcal).
Recommendation
How much would be an acceptable amount? The USDA recommends we consume no more than
5 -15 % of energy as added sugar (Dietary Guidelines for Americans), that is roughly 10
teaspoons a day or less (aka 40 g).
(Note that this does not refer to natural sugars, the sugars in white milk, fresh fruits and
vegetables).
Activity/Demo: Have one in the audience pour out his “usual” amount of cereal. How does this
compare to a serving size on the package? If one serving has x amount of sugar how much does
this portion have. Compare to recommended amount of added sugar.
Transition: Why should be limit the amount of added sugar (after all, it’s an energy source)?
Empty calories:
What are empty calories? Foods that have little or no nutritional value, besides energy.
Nutritional value is provided by protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, etc. When we
eat foods that doesn’t contain these things, or not very many of them, they take the place of the
foods that do contain these benefits.
Ask audience: Foods with empty calories include: soda and other sugar sweetened beverages,
candy etc.
(show can of soda and banana for a visual).
On the other hand, foods that are high in natural sugars contain energy just like processed food
with added sugar, but they also contain other nutrients. Sugar in milk, fruits, and vegetables is
part of the total package of nutrients. Their calories are not considered to be empty.
(soda, energy drinks, and sports drinks contribute 36 of added sugar, grain-based desserts 13%,
sugar-sweetened fruit drinks 10%, dairy-based desserts 6%, and candy 6%).
(if question: What about natural forms of sugar like maple syrup and honey? They do have some
vitamins and minerals, but only in small amounts. You would need to eat large amount to get
these benefits. And they raise blood sugar in the same way sugar does and excess is also stored
in our fat cells.)
(Besides replacing nutritious food, how else does sugar effect our health? Ask audience)
How does sugar effect our health? Fact and Fiction activity:
(we give a statement and ask the audience to stand up if they think that the statement is true)
1. Eating too much added sugar can contribute to weight gain (yes, even though “food that
contain added sugar are no more likely to contribute to weight gain than other sources of
calories”, they are often very energy-dense while only supplying empty calories)
1. Eating too much sugar can causes diabetes (no, discuss that sugar consumption does not cause
“sugar”, but that obesity is a risk factor for diabetes, heart disease and cancer)
2. Sugar can contribute to tooth decay (yes, applies to naturally occurring sugar and added sugar,
but since fluoride is used dental caries is actually on the decline despite increasing sugar
consumption)
3. Sugar makes cancer cells grow faster (no, all cells including cancer cells depend on blood
glucose for energy)
4. Sugar causes hyperactivity in children (no, there is no scientific evidence that sugar causes
ADD and ADHD)
5. Eating sugar can improve mood (yes, sugar and other carbohydrates can increase the brain
level of serotonin, and this improves the person’s mood, can also contribute to mood imbalances
– and some of the effect on mood might also be a learned response, because sweet food is often
associated with pleasant memories, like birthday cake etc).
6. Food high in added sugar has empty calories and can lead to poor nutrition (yes, just as a
review).
Transition: if too much sugar has negative effects, are there alternatives to satisfy our sweet
tooth?
Sugar substitutes:
Sweeteners that are used instead of regular table sugar. Products are often labeled as “sugarfree”, “diet” or “natural”.
-
Artificial sweeteners/non-nutritive sweeteners
Sugar alcohols
Novel sweeteners
Natural sweeteners
(discuss examples and general attributes of each group, including pros and cons).
Transition: there is really no substitution for sugar that does not come with its own drawbacks,
so the best way to go is to reduce the overall amount of sugar.
How to decrease our sugar consumption:
In small groups have them come up with ideas to decrease added sugar intake.
Ideas are written down on colored pieces of paper and taped to the flipchart.
- Mix high and low sugar cereal together
- Choose a cereal with less sugar
- Choose plain yogurt and add fruit, for example berries, vanilla extract, cinnamon or nuts
to flavor
- Eat only one sweet treat/dessert a day and watch your portion
- Look at the ingredient list
- Alternatives to soda: water with lemon or small amount of juice to flavor
- Cut the amount of sugar in recipes
- Make your own dressing
- Choose your drink wisely (fewer or no regular soda, sports drinks, energy drinks and fruit
drinks, more water, fat-free or low-fat milk, unsweetened tea or coffee, small amounts of
100% fruit juice)
Evaluation:
Post-test
(do we need another game as eval, would we even have time?)
Call to action: Be sure to read labels and choose foods that are low in sugar. Practice some of the
tips we have talked about today and reduce added sugar in your live.
Flipchart 1: titel
Flipchart 2: objectives
Flipchart 3: number for icebreaker game
Flipchart 4: what is sugar?
Carbohydrates/glucose are the bodies main source of energy
Insulin regulates blood sugar levels
Flipchart 5:
Other names for sugar:
Granulated sugar
Brown sugar
Confectioner sugar
Inverted sugar
Maple syrup
Corn syrup
Dextrin
Honey
Beet/cane sugar
Sucrose
High fructose corn syrup
Malt syrup
Evaporated cane juice
Molasses
Turbinado sugar
Raw sugar
Agave nectar
Flipchart 6: sugar substitutes
Flipchart 7: collect ideas how to decrease sugar intake
Supplies to bring:
Flip chart, Sharpies, marker
Small, medium cup and container
Food container with labels
Cards with sugar names
Cereal for demo