Instead of worrying about the type of sugar a person is consuming as discussed in the Herald story, “In search of sweet,” (Feb. 18), it would be better for one’s health to look at the amount being consumed on a daily basis. By the time any kind of sugar has been ingested, absorbed and broken down to its most simple forms of glucose or fructose, your body does not know what the original source of that sugar was. None of the discussed sweeteners should be called “healthy” by any means.

Those that may offer some so-called nutritional benefits would need to be eaten in quantities considered excessive in order to garner any nutrition from the sugar source. Proposed changes in the recommendations by the World Health Organization are that we limit our intake of sugar to 5 percent of total calories. For a person on a 2,000-calorie diet that would mean limiting sugar to 25 grams per day, or about six teaspoons. By the way, the average sweetened 12-ounce beverage has 35 grams of sugar. Ouch! The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is proposing changes to nutrition labels, so we will be able to know if the sugar in a product has been added by the manufacturer, or if it is a naturally occurring carbohydrate such as fructose in fruit. Here are just a few of the names to watch for on a label that mean sugar has been added: corn sweetener, high-fructose corn syrup, cane juice, fruit juice concentrates, malts, nectars and sorghum.

Also look for ingredients that end in “ose” – a sugar, or “itol” – a sugar alcohol. Good luck to those of you trying to limit your sugar intake. It is tough at times, but the bottom line is that those without a health issue requiring diet modification will likely do no harm by allowing themselves to have occasional sweets in small amounts.

Try following the 85/15 rule. Follow a healthy, whole food-based diet at least 85 percent of the time. The rest of the time allow yourself some other foods and savor every bite.

Betzi Murphy

Durango