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How Much
Sugar Should You Eat Per Day?
Written
by Kris Gunnars,
BSc
Added sugar is the single worst
ingredient in the modern diet.
It provides calories with no added
nutrients and can damage your metabolism in the long run.
Eating too much sugar is linked to
weight gain and various diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart
disease.
But how much is too much? Can you eat
a little bit of sugar each day without harm, or should you avoid it as much as
possible?
Added Sugars vs Natural Sugars — Big Difference
It is very important to make the
distinction between added sugars and sugars that occur naturally in foods like
fruits and vegetables.
These are healthy foods that contain water, fiber
and various micronutrients. Naturally occurring sugars are absolutely fine, but
the same does not apply to added sugar.
Added sugar is the main ingredient in
candy and is abundant in many processed foods, such as soft drinks and baked
products.
The most common added sugars are
regular table sugar (sucrose) and high-fructose corn syrup.
If you want to lose weight and
optimize your health, you should do your best to avoid foods that contain added
sugars.
SUMMARY
Sugar that’s added
to processed foods is much worse than natural sugar in whole foods like fruits
and vegetables.
Sugar Consumption Is Extremely High
In 2008, people in the US were
consuming over 60 pounds (28 kg) of added sugar per year — and this does not
include fruit juices.
The average intake was 76.7 grams per
day, which equals 19 teaspoons or 306 calories.
According to this study, sugar
consumption went down by 23% between the years 2000 and 2008, mainly because
people drank fewer sugar-sweetened beverages.
However, current intake levels are
still way too high and probably haven’t changed since then. In 2012, the
average adult intake was 77 grams per day.
Excess sugar consumption has been
associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers, tooth
decay, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and a lot more .
SUMMARY
Excessive sugar
intake is common. It’s been linked with various lifestyle diseases, including
obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
What Is a Safe Amount of Sugar to Eat Per Day?
Unfortunately, there is no simple
answer to this question. Some people can eat a lot of sugar without harm, while
others should avoid it as much as possible.
According to the American Heart
Association (AHA), the maximum amount of added sugars you should eat in a day
are:
· Men: 150 calories per day (37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons)
· Women: 100 calories per day (25 grams or 6 teaspoons)
To put that into perspective, one
12-oz can of Coke contains 140 calories from sugar, while a regular-sized
Snickers bar contains 120 calories from sugar.
In contrast, the US dietary
guidelines advise people to limit their intake to less than 10% of their daily
calorie intake.
For a person eating 2,000 calories
per day, this would equal 50 grams of sugar, or about 12.5 teaspoons.
If you are healthy, lean and active,
these seem like reasonable amounts. You’ll probably burn off these small
amounts of sugar without them causing you any harm.
But it’s important to note that there
is no need for added sugars in the diet. The less you eat, the healthier you
will be.
SUMMARY
The American Heart
Association advises men to get no more than 150 calories from added sugar per
day and women no more than 100 calories.
What If You're Overweight or Obese?
If you are overweight, obese or
diabetic, you should probably avoid sugar as much as possible.
In that case, you should not be
consuming sugar every day, more like once per week or once every two weeks (at
most).
But if you want to be as healthy as
possible, you really shouldn't be consuming foods that have sugar added to
them.
Soft drinks, baked goods and
processed foods have no place in the diet of someone who is overweight.
Stick to real, single-ingredient
foods and avoid processed foods high in sugar and refined carbohydrates.
SUMMARY
Overweight or obese
people should avoid eating added sugar every day. If possible, it would be best
to avoid all added sugar.
If You're Addicted to Sugar, Perhaps You Should Avoid It
Completely
Sugary junk foods stimulate the same
areas in the brain as drugs of abuse.
For this reason, sugar can cause
people to lose control over their consumption.
That said, sugar is not nearly as
addictive as drugs of abuse, and “sugar addiction” should be comparatively easy
to overcome.
If you have a history of binge
eating, failure at setting rules about your eating (like cheat meals or days)
and repeated failures with the "everything in moderation" approach,
then perhaps you are addicted.
In the same way that a smoker needs
to avoid cigarettes completely, a sugar addict needs to avoid sugar completely.
Complete abstinence is the only
reliable way for true addicts to overcome their addiction.
SUMMARY
If you feel like
you are addicted to added sugar, you should consider avoiding it completely.
How to Minimize Sugars in Your Diet
Avoid these foods, in order of
importance:
1. Soft drinks: Sugar-sweetened
beverages are unhealthy. You should avoid these like the plague.
2. Fruit juices: Fruit juices
actually contain the same amount of sugar as soft drinks! Choose whole fruit
instead of fruit juice.
3. Candies and sweets: You should
drastically limit your consumption of sweets.
4. Baked goods: Cookies,
cakes, etc. These tend to be very high in sugar and refined carbohydrates.
5. Fruits canned in
syrup: Choose fresh fruits instead.
6. Low-fat or diet
foods: Foods that have had the fat removed from them are often
very high in sugar.
Drink water instead of soda or juices and don't
add sugar to your coffee or tea.
Instead of sugar in recipes, you can
try things like cinnamon, nutmeg, almond extract, vanilla, ginger or lemon.
Just be creative and find recipes
online. You can eat an endless variety of amazing foods even if you eliminate
all sugar from your diet.
A natural, zero-calorie alternative
to sugar is stevia.
SUMMARY
Reduce your sugar
intake by limiting soft drinks, fruit juice, candy, and baked goods.
What About Sugar in Processed Foods?
The best way to cut back on sugar is
to simply avoid processed foods and satisfy your sweet tooth with fruit
instead.
This approach doesn't require math,
calorie counting or obsessively reading food labels all the time.
However, if you're simply unable to
stick to unprocessed foods for financial reasons, then here are some tips on
how to make the right choices:
· Know that sugar has many names. These include
sugar, sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), dehydrated cane juice,
fructose, glucose, dextrose, syrup, cane sugar, raw sugar, corn syrup and more.
· If a packaged food contains sugar in the first 3 ingredients,
avoid it.
· If a packaged food contains more than one type of sugar, avoid
it.
· Be aware that other high-sugar foods often labeled healthy fall
into the same category. These include agave, honey, organic cane sugar and
coconut sugar.
Warning: You MUST read
nutrition labels! Even foods disguised as "health foods" can be
loaded with added sugars.
SUMMARY
If you eat
processed, packaged foods, avoiding all added sugar can be difficult. Make sure
to read labels and be aware that food producers often disguise added sugar
using alternative names.
The Bottom Line
At the end of the day, it's important
to figure out the sugar intake that’s right for you.
Some people can handle a little bit
of sugar in their diet, while for others it causes cravings, binge eating, rapid weight gain and
disease.
Every individual is unique and you
need to figure out what works for you.
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