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Sweetened with Dates: How Healthy Is It Really?

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN
Photo by Mona Mok on Unsplash

Q.  I watch my sugar intake and I’ve been searching for a healthy granola bar. Finally, I found Larabars at my grocery store: Only three ingredients and no added sugar. Awesome! My only concern is that the sugar content, while derived completely from dates, is very high.  If I’m limiting my added sugar intake, should I also pay attention to sugars from natural sources? Thank you for your advice!

A. You have to be impressed by a processed food with only three ingredients!  But I’m glad you didn’t let the glare of that health halo blind you to the high sugar content.

In terms of “added sugars,” the Larabars squeak through on a technicality.  Added sugars usually refers to refined sugar and other concentrated sweeteners like honey or maple syrup. (Yup, even though they’re natural, they’re considered added sugars!)  The naturally-occurring sugars in whole fruit and dairy products are usually given an exemption.

By the usual definition, the dates in your granola bar wouldn’t be considered added sugar. But, frankly, dates are about as close as you can get to sugar and still call yourself a fruit.  (For that matter, I guess sugar cane could technically be considered a whole grain!)

How Nutritious are Dates?

An ounce of medjool dates contains 19 grams of sugar and 2 grams of fiber. An ounce of honey provides 23 grams of sugar and 0 grams of fiber. Neither one is a significant source of vitamins or minerals. (Click the links to see the complete nutrition facts.)

Aside from a gram or two of fiber, a bar sweetened with dates is really not that much different from a bar sweetened with honey.  Ask yourself this: If the bar were sweetened with honey instead of dates, would it be more sugar than you’d be willing to eat?   Although I’m all for whole foods and short ingredient lists, I agree with you that a bar with less sugar might be a better choice.

See also:How much fruit is good for you?

When is White Bread Preferable to Whole Wheat?

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

In my recent post “Are Your Nutrition Priorities in the Right Order?” I observed that portion size has a bigger impact on blood sugar than whether a grain product is whole or refined.

Laura’s not buying it! She comments:

So you’re saying that eating 1 peanut butter sandwich on white bread is better nutritionally than eating 2 on whole wheat bread? I find that hard to believe.

Fair enough. Let’s take a look at how these two options stack up. Continue reading “When is White Bread Preferable to Whole Wheat?” >

Are Your Nutrition Priorities in the Right Order?

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

I’ve been giving a lot of interviews surrounding the launch of my book this month and reviewers seem fascinated by the subtitle: What to Eat, What to Avoid, and What to Stop Worrying About.

As I wrote in the introduction to the book, “that last category may be the most important of all…In addition to helping you make the best choices at the grocery store and navigate the many decisions you make throughout the day, my ultimate goal is to help you prioritize the things that will make the biggest difference in your health.”

I can’t think of a better illustration for this than the e-mail I received this morning:  Continue reading “Are Your Nutrition Priorities in the Right Order?” >

Does a High Fat Breakfast Burn More Fat?

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

Hold the skim latte and bring on the butter? High-fat breakfasts are enjoying a comeback in some circles, after a study published in the International Journal of Obesity found that rats who ate a high fat breakfast burned more fat throughout the day than rats who ate a high carbohydrate breakfast.

But the reality on the ground looks a little different. Multiple studies have found that people who eat high fat breakfasts end up eating more calories over the course of the day–almost certainly trumping any increase in the fat-burning metabolism observed in the mouse study.

That’s not to say that a breakfast high in refined carbohydrates (corn flakes, toast, jelly, juice, etc.) is the way to go.  The ideal breakfast for appetite and weight control appears to be one that’s high in both protein and fiber. So bring on the eggs, tofu, cottage cheese, yogurt, oatmeal and other whole grain cereals.

As a bonus, research suggests that this type of low-glycemic breakfast may help you burn more fat during your lunch-time workout.

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Special Live Event!

Join me tomorrow night, March 8th, at 9pm Eastern for a forum on breakfast, fitness, and weight management. Joining me for this live webcast are Ben Greenfield of BenGreenfieldFitness.com, Darya Pino, PhD of  SummerTomato.com, and Gloria Tsang, MS, RD of Healthcastle.com.  Your questions and comments are welcome.  The event will be broadcast right here on NutritionOverEasy.com.  Click here to RSVP.

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The Studies:

Time-of-day-dependent dietary fat consumption influences multiple cardiometabolic syndrome parameters in mice.

Energy and macronutrient composition of breakfast affect gastric emptying of lunch and subsequent food intake, satiety and satiation.

The effects of high-carbohydrate vs high-fat breakfasts on feelings of fullness and alertness, and subsequent food intake

Fat oxidation during exercise and satiety during recovery are increased following a low-glycemic index breakfast in sedentary women.

 

Is Salt Unfairly Demonized?

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

Q. In a recent interview,  you mentioned cutting back on added sugar as one of the most important things you can do to improve your diet. I noticed you didn’t mention the importance of limiting sodium.    Do you think the concerns over sodium are over-blown?

A.  In a word, yes.  In the recently released 2010 Dietary Guide for Americans, they really came down hard on salt, stressing the need for all Americans to reduce their sodium intake.  Given all the things about the typical American diet that could use fixing, I thought it was a little odd how much emphasis they put on this. (Obviously, the salt lobby was asleep at the switch during the hearings…)

The rationale for universal sodium restriction rests a string of loosely related statistics:

Continue reading “Is Salt Unfairly Demonized?” >

Read a sample chapter of my new book!

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

March 1st  was the official release date for my new book, Nutrition Diva’s Secrets for a Healthy Diet. After working on hard on the book for the last year with my wonderful editor, Emily Rothschild, and the great folks at Quick and Dirty Tips, it’s so exciting to be holding the actual book in my hand!

If you’d like to check it out, there are sample chapters and all kinds of other goodies on the book’s QDT webpage. Continue reading “Read a sample chapter of my new book!” >