Rethinking our relationships with sugar
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👋 Annalise here. In my 2025 series trying Dearborn's most mouthwatering desserts, I fell hard for the Dubai chocolate strawberry cup, the sweet-savory cheese dome and traditional baklava.
Yes, but: All those midday treats are now merely long-ago love affairs to play through my mind on repeat during the dark, lonely hours, like an elderly bachelor reflecting on his Casanova youth.
Why it matters: I, a lifelong dessert fiend, have committed to reducing my sugar intake in 2026 and I'm far from alone.
Zoom out: Three-quarters of Americans surveyed by the International Food Information Council last year said they were trying to limit or avoid sugar, per Food Business News.
By the numbers: The average American consumes 17 teaspoons of added sugar daily, per the American Heart Association, which recommends 9 teaspoons for men and 6 for women.
Caveat: Sugar isn't evil. It occurs naturally, like in healthy fruits, and many people have a fine relationship with it.
- The issue is consuming too much added sugar from soft drinks and treats, which can provide a dopamine hit. Too much can raise the risk of heart disease as well as type 2 diabetes.
Pro tip: Ashlee Carnahan, a dietitian nutritionist at Henry Ford Health, suggests looking at added sugar on food labels, as well as total fiber.
- "The more fiber in a food, even if it does have carbohydrate or sugar, it's still going to help our body regulate it and break it down so we're not having that roller coaster effect," Carnahan tells Axios.
Yes, but: While I'm tempted to challenge myself by cutting out added sugar almost completely, Carnahan says she doesn't tell folks to never eat their favorite candy again. It's "unrealistic" and not necessary.
- She suggests trying to go down from eating sweets three or four times a week to one or two — and add in more servings of naturally occurring sweet foods like fruit, whether that's with lunch or as a dessert replacement.
Reality check: Samantha Barash, founder of Southfield-based Tap Into Nutrition, added that while too much sugar is a common concern from clients, "it's never really just about the sugar … there's more going on."
- Barash's work teaches clients to understand their overall relationship with food, what feels good and not good, and how to de-center the shame that many of us are raised to feel about food.
The bottom line: "What we can do is really think about our diet as a whole, and how many servings of fruits and vegetables you have a day," Carnahan says. "Before you take away from yourself, think about where you can build first."