Sugar Visuals

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Written By Judy Doherty, MPS, PCII
Shauna Schultz, RD, Public Health Nutritionist, sent a game idea she uses that is quite popular. It teaches clients that high-sugar beverages are not satiating but add extra calories, which can add up too fast and are not compensated for later!
It also allows them to make visual comparisons and it surprises them with stats from beverages they thought were healthful. Here is a version she did.1) Take 4-5 beverages of different serving sizes (e.g. juice, gatorade, soda, cyrstal light and a bottled smoothie) and label them A through D or E.2) Next, figure out the grams of sugar per serving and measure the corresponding number of teaspoons into small zipper bags. 4 grams of sugar equals 1 teaspoon.3) Have the clients put the beverages in order according to assumed sugar content.4) Next, have them pull out a sugar-filled bag (label it with the number of calories and teaspoons of sugar) and read it.5) The group can then guess which product matches each bag and the correct answers can be given at the end.It is also fun to have them write down everything they drank the day before and come up with alternatives if needed. Shauna also made a bag of sugar with the World Health Organization’s recommendation for a comparison to the other products. Since this is 10% of calories, that would be 200 calories on a 2,000-calorie diet, which translates to 50 grams or 12.5 teaspoons of sugar per day.
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Judy Doherty, MPS, PCII

Judy’s passion for cooking began with helping her grandmother make raisin oatmeal for breakfast. From there, she earned her first food service job at 15, was accepted to the world-famous Culinary Institute of America at 18 (where she graduated second in her class), and went on to the Fachschule Richemont in Switzerland, where she focused on pastry arts and baking. After a decade in food service for Hyatt Hotels, Judy launched Food and Health Communications to focus on flavor and health. She graduated with Summa Cum Laude distinction from Johnson and Wales University with a BS in Culinary Arts, holds a master’s degree in Food Business from the Culinary Institute of America, two art certificates from UC Berkeley Extension, and runs a food photography & motion studio where her love is creating fun recipes and content.

Judy received The Culinary Institute of America’s Pro Chef II certification, the American Culinary Federation Bronze Medal, Gold Medal, and ACF Chef of the Year. Her enthusiasm for eating nutritiously and deliciously leads her to constantly innovate and use the latest nutritional science and Dietary Guidelines to guide her creativity, from putting new twists on fajitas to adapting Italian brownies to include ingredients like toasted nuts and cooked honey. Judy’s publishing company, Food and Health Communications, is dedicated to her vision that everyone can make food that tastes as good as it is for you.

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