ABSTRACT
Key Points ...................................................................................................................................... 127 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 128 Modern Food Supply: The US Example from the Consumer Packaged Food and Beverage
Sector .................................................................................................................................... 128 Global Trends-Sweetening of the Global Diet ............................................................................ 131 US Added Sugar Consumption from National Dietary Intake Estimates ...................................... 132 Global Trends on Beverages-The Leading Source of Added Sugar Increases Globally ............. 133 Europe ............................................................................................................................................ 134 Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 135 Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... 136 Conicts of Interest ........................................................................................................................ 136 References ...................................................................................................................................... 136
Sugars are found in our food supply either as a natural component of the food or as an added sugar of various types. Sugars are added to food not only for their impact on taste, but also because it is economical and has many properties, such as a preservative to prevent growth of many organisms and keep perishable foods from spoiling (e.g., jams, candied fruit peels) as well as to improve texture of cooked products. Added sugars provide only empty calories with no nutrient value, are highly rened, and also serve to sweeten foods and beverages and enhance desirability. As a beverage, a vast literature has shown how our bodies do not compensate for beverage calories, and sugary beverage intake is linked with many cardiometabolic problems [1-5] as reviewed in other chapters. Surprisingly, much less is understood about the sweetening of our food supply than one would imagine. Partly this relates to the impossibility of measuring the specic type and amount of the different added sugars versus naturally occurring sugars directly in any food or beverage. Partly this relates to the vast number of different sugars used in the food supply.
