Nutrition Unit

Lesson Title: Sugar Lesson

Brief Description
Explore the characteristics of sugar and artificial sweeteners.

Duration of the lesson: One day

Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
• Understand the similarities and differences between various sugars and
artificial sweeteners
• Recognize factors to consider in selecting a type of sweetener
• Identify the kinds of sweeteners used in different types of food
(beverages, baked goods, condiments, gum)
• Discuss the benefits and risks of eating sugar and sugar substitutes

Standards
• Standard 3.1.1 and Standard 3.1.2

Resources
Sugar and Artificial Sweeteners power point
Student Worksheet: Sugars and Artificial Sweeteners
Ziploc bag of individual sweetener packets including:
• Table Sugar
• Sugar in the Raw
• Honey
• Agave
• Equal
• Sweet N’ Low

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• Splenda,
• Stevia in the Raw
• XyloSweet

Additional resources:
• “Fed Up” movie about sugar in processed foods, government policies that
support use of sugar and high fructose corn syrup. 92 minutes. Narrated
by newscaster Katie Couric, Producer Laurie David (Oscar winning
producer of An Inconvenient Truth), Director Stephanie Soechtig.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fed_Up_(film)

• Let’s Take Back Your Health blog by Chris Kessler

o Is All Sugar Created Equal http://chriskresser.com/is-all-sugar-
created-equal
o Does It Matter if a Sweetener is ‘Natural?
http://chriskresser.com/does-it-matter-if-a-sweetener-is-natural
o Is Refined Sugar Really Toxic? http://chriskresser.com/is-refined-
sugar-really-toxic
o The Unbiased Truth About Artificial Sweeteners
http://chriskresser.com/the-unbiased-truth-about-artificial-
sweeteners

Instructional Activities
1. Hand out ziploc bags of sweetener packets to groups of two students
2. Choose several of these questions for students to answer. If students
cannot find the needed information on the packet and don’t know enough
about the sweetener to have an opinion, put the sweetener in the
category, “insufficient information”:
a. Rank the sweeteners from least to most calories
b. Rank the sweeteners from least to most sweetness
c. Divide the sweeteners into 2 groups: Natural (made from plants
and animals) and Artificial (a chemical manufactured in a
laboratory)
d. Rank the sweeteners from least to most processed
e. Think about the health effects of different types of sweeteners:

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i. Which sweeteners can be used by someone who has

diabetes?
ii. Which sweeteners can be used by someone who is allergic to
gluten?
iii. Which sweeteners can be used by someone who has PKU and
cannot digest phenylalanine. (FYI, packages are required to
carry a warning when a food contains phenylalanine)
iv. Which sweeteners might help someone lose weight?
v. Which sweetener should not be given to babies because it
could cause botulism?
f. Rank the packets from most to least number of ingredients
g. Rank the packets from most to least amount of information given.
Is the information on the packets easy to understand? If not,
identify a packet with information that is not easy to understand.
h. Which of the sweeteners are you familiar with? Which ones have
you used?
i. Share results
3. Present power point
a. Now that students have more information, have them work in pairs
to rank the packets in order, from the sweetener they would be
most likely to use to the sweetener they would be least likely to use
4. Follow up with a class discussion:
a. Were you able to agree with your partner about ranking the
sweeteners?
b. What’s something about sweeteners you didn’t know before this
lesson?
c. Name some benefit of particular sweeteners
d. Name some risks of particular sweeteners
e. Of all the natural types of sugars, which one would be your
preference and why?
f. Of the 3 artificial sweeteners, which one would be your preference
and why?
g. Are you more likely to use natural or artificial sweeteners? Why?

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h. How would you select a sugar for someone with a specific goal, like
weight loss? For a person with a health issue?

Accommodations
Provide a taste-test station so students can see, touch and taste the various
sweeteners. Provide the name of the main ingredient and a sample package to
help students identify the product with the brand name.

Extensions
1. Seek out a family member or friend who is restricting their use of sugar.
Interview them to find out their concerns.
2. Interview the person who buys groceries for your family and ask them
what kinds of sweeteners they buy, and why?
3. Go to the grocery store and identify 5 different types of food that contain
sweeteners. Find products that contain 5 different sugars or artificial
sweeteners. Create a grid with the product type, brand name, and type of
sweetener it contains.

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Name  ___________________________________    Period    _____        Date    ______  

Sugar  and  Artificial  Sweeteners  

Rank  the  sweetener  packets  from  least  to  most  calories.  List.  

   

Rank  the  sweetener  packets  from  sweet  to  sweetest.    List.  

Divide  the  sweeteners  into  2  groups:    

Natural  (made  from  plants  and  animals)  and  Artificial  (manufactured  in  a  laboratory).    List.  

Rank  the  sweeteners  from  least  to  most  processed.  List.  

Which  sweetener  contains  the  most  ingredients?  Name  the  sweetener  &  list  the  ingredients:  

Name  4  reasons  people  may  choose  artificial  sweetener  over  a  natural  sweetener.  

1.             3.  

2.             4.    

Another  Question:  ______________________________________________________________  

Answer:  
Notes  from  Powerpoint:  

Sugar  (sucrose)  

*table  sugar             *turbinado  sugar  

Honey  

Agave    

Xylitol  (XyloSweet)  

Stevia    

Saccharin  (Sweet  N’  Low)  

Aspartame  (Equal)  

Sucralose  (Splenda)  
More  findings  about  artificial  sweeteners  
 
Using  non-­‐caloric  artificial  sweeteners  do  not  seem  to  help  people  lose  weight.  Some  
studies  suggest  that  people  who  use  them  actually  gain  weight.    
 
Research  studies  on  diet  soda  show:  
• People  who  drink  diet  soda  tend  to  gain  more  weight  than  people  who  don’t.    
• Children  (age  9-­‐19)  who  drank  diet  soda  gained  more  weight  than  children  
who  didn’t  drink  diet  soda.  The  more  diet  soda  they  drank,  the  more  weight  
they  gained.    
• Use  of  artificial  sweeteners  may  contribute  to  obesity  and  diabetes.  
• People  of  normal  weight  who  drink  diet  soda  have  a  higher  risk  of  diabetes,  
heart  disease  and  stroke  than  those  who  don’t  drink  diet  soda.    
• Eating  a  little  sugar  reduced  the  amount  of  food  eaten  at  the  next  meal  in  
people  and  in  mice.  Eating  a  little  artificial  sweetener  did  not  change  or  
increased  the  amount  eaten  at  the  next  meal.  
• The  types  of  gut  bacteria  is  different  in  people  who  use  artificial  sweeteners  
and  those  who  don’t.  Mice  that  consumed  artificial  sweeteners  had  gut  
bacteria  populations  known  to  be  associated  with  obesity  and  diabetes.  
• A  study  that  asked  people  to  eat  artificially  sweetened  foods  for  a  week  found  
changes  in  gut  bacteria  and  signs  of  glucose  intolerance.  Glucose  intolerance  
leads  to  metabolic  syndrome  and  diabetes.  
• Some  gut  bacteria  found  in  people  with  glucose  intolerance  react  to  artificial  
sweeteners  by  causing  inflammation.  Inflammation  also  happens  with  sugar  
overdose.  This  causes  changes  in  the  body’s  ability  to  use  sugar.  
 
 
Why?  Some  hypotheses  are:  
• Sugar  tastes  sweet  and  satisfies  hunger  but  eating  no-­‐calorie  artificial  
sweetener  only  tastes  sweet  but  does  not  satisfy  hunger.  
• Artificial  sweeteners  fill  the  craving  for  a  sweet  taste,  but  without  the  
calories.  The  artificial  sweetener  teases  the  body  into  thinking  it’s  real  food,  
but  since  it  doesn’t  have  calories,  the  body  doesn’t  feel  full.  
• Knowing  you  are  drinking  no-­‐calorie  soda  makes  you  think  you  can  eat  more,  
and  you  overcompensate  (diet  soda  with  a  piece  of  pie).  
• The  sweet  taste  of  artificial  sweeteners  increases  appetite.  Regularly  eating  
artificial  sweeteners  in  diet  soda  and  other  foods  may  encourage  sugar  
cravings  and  increase  appetite.  
• Artificial  sweeteners  don’t  satisfy  the  “Reward  Center”  in  the  brain,  leading  
to  craving  sugar,  eating  more  sweet,  high-­‐calorie  food,  and  gaining  weight.  
• Eating  artificial  sweeteners  may  trick  the  body  into  expecting  sugar  and  
calories.  The  body  may  then  release  insulin.  When  the  sugar  doesn’t  come,  
the  body  may  get  confused  and  not  metabolize  sugar  as  well.  
• Eating  artificial  sweeteners  changes  the  microbiome  -­‐  the  bacteria  in  our  
intestines  -­‐  and  disrupts  our  body’s  ability  to  regulate  blood  sugar.  
  
Experts  recommend:  
• Limit  the  amount  of  artificial  sweetener  you  eat.  Diet  soda  should  be  a  treat,  
not  an  everyday  thing,  the  same  as  candy.  
• “Unsweetening”  the  world’s  diet  might  be  the  key  to  reversing  the  obesity  
epidemic.  
• Regulators  should  reassess  the  unsupervised  consumption  of  large  amounts  
of  artificial  sweeteners.  
 
References/To  Learn  More    
 
Blog:  Diet  soda  may  do  more  harm  than  good  
http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2013/07/10/diet-­‐soda-­‐may-­‐do-­‐more-­‐harm-­‐than-­‐
good/?hpt=hp_t2  
 
Video:  “Are  Diet  Sodas  Dangerous  to  your  Health?”  Interview  with  Dr.  Sanjay  Gupta  
(4  min  19  sec)  
http://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2013/07/11/newday-­‐intv-­‐gupta-­‐diet-­‐soda-­‐
health.cnn    
 
Review  article:  Gain  weight  by  “going  diet”?  Artificial  sweeteners  and  the  
neurobiology  of  sugar  cravings.  Qing  Yang.  Neuroscience  2010.  
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892765/  
 
Blog:  Gut  Bacteria,  Artificial  Sweeteners,  and  Glucose  Intolerance  
http://www.weizmann-­‐usa.org/media/2014/09/17/gut-­‐bacteria-­‐artificial-­‐
sweeteners-­‐and-­‐glucose-­‐intolerance