We wrote yesterday about a UC San Francisco paper calling for the regulation of sugar. So what does Stanford nutrition consultant Jo Ann Hattner, RD, think about villianizing the sweet stuff? Her thoughts were included in today's San Francisco Chronicle:
...Not all scientists agree that sugar should shoulder the entire burden for the chronic diseases afflicting modern Americans.
"When you get into this argument about sugar in the diet, you also have to look at the type of food that has a high sugar content," said... Hattner, a San Francisco registered dietitian who teaches nutrition courses at Stanford. "Those foods have few nutrients and little fiber, and that's not good for you. So is it sugar itself that's harmful?"
That said, Hattner added, there's no doubt that people in general consume too much sugar and that everyone could benefit from eating less - and especially looking out for "hidden" sugars in their diets. Those sugars are often found in processed foods like sodas, cereals and breads. Even cookies contain much more sugar than they did a decade or two ago, nutritionists say.