Sugar tastes delicious and provides a quick source of energy. Most people love sweets, such as cakes, cookies, brownies, candy, and other treats. Your favorite treats just won’t be the same without sugar, will they?
But the reality is that most of us eat way too much sugar, and sadly, not many of us even realize that’s what we’re doing. Ultimately, satisfying your sweet tooth is not more important than your health, so we should be mindful of the amount of sugar we consume daily.
Consuming too much sugar is linked to several health conditions. While eliminating sugar entirely is impossible, it helps to be aware of your intake.
How Much Sugar Should You Consume in A Day?
Is there a specific recommendation for the amount of naturally occurring sugars to eat daily? Well, not entirely, but there are some guidelines for added sugars.
According to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, an adult should not consume more than 10% of added sugars of their total calorie intake. For instance, if you consume 2,000 calories a day, the guidelines recommend that you limit your sugar intake to 48 grams or 12 teaspoons per day. According to the USDA, American adults eat way more than the recommended intake, with 17 teaspoons of sugar per day.
The American Heart Association advocates a stricter boundary. According to them, adults should limit added sugars to 6% of their total daily calorie intake, which is about 6 to 9 teaspoons for a 2000-calorie diet.
It also helps to check a specific food’s natural and added sugar content by reading the nutritional label. Generally, the body processes all forms of sugar similarly, albeit with certain exceptions. Whole foods like vegetables and fruits contain many starches, including fiber and complex carbohydrates. These complex carbohydrates have three or more types of sugar; therefore, they digest more slowly, preventing blood sugar levels from spiking up. On the other hand, table sugar and sweeteners are simple carbohydrates and have the opposite effect.
If you want to be mindful of your sugar intake, focus on the added sugar content.
Foods That Contain High Sugar
Flavored beverages, including fruit drinks, soft drinks, sports drinks, tea, and coffee, are the most common sources of added sugars. In fact, beverages make up about 50% of all added sugars.
Sweet snacks, desserts, and candy are very high in sugar. The most common sources of added sugars for Americans are breakfast cereals and bars, sweetened yogurt, and sandwiches. Most people do not consider these foods high in sugar, but did you know that vanilla Greek yogurt contains about nine grams of added sugars?
What Are the Ways Of Reducing Sugar Intake?
Since sugar is present in almost every food, we must be mindful of the added sugar content. Start by slowly cutting down on foods with high-sugar content in your diet. You don’t have to omit it altogether (which might cause withdrawal symptoms, too), but there are ways you can enjoy eating while minimizing added sugar. Here’s how:
- Consume food that is high in healthy fats, protein, and fiber throughout the day. They help prevent cravings for high-sugar food in the evening.
- Ask for less or no sweetener in your coffee order.
- Get low-sugar beverages like unsweetened milk, tea, sparkling water, etc.
- Instead of processed food that is high in sugar, opt for snacks like nuts, whole fruits, seeds, and vegetables.
- Pick brands that don’t include added sugar when selecting yogurt and seed butter.
- Purchase unsweetened products and use natural sweeteners like fruit or honey.
What Health Conditions Can Arise From Consuming Too Much Sugar
Remember, consuming sugar in moderation is perfectly alright—it’s the excessiveness that must be curbed. When you consume surplus sugar, it gets stored as fat, which leads to weight gain. Weight gain is a risk factor for many health conditions, like high blood pressure and chronic body pains. In addition, there are some more health effects from too much added sugar.
Tooth Decay
Added sugars are a key risk factor for dental caries—known as cavities or tooth decay—in both adults and children. Natural sugars, such as those available in fruits, wouldn’t pose the same threats to the teeth, though. However, dried fruits could cause issues because they tend to get stuck in the teeth.
Heart Diseases
The reason why the American Heart Association holds such a rigid sugar recommendation is primarily because added sugars are linked with the risk of developing cardiovascular conditions. This is because high sugar consumption can cause spikes in blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which are both risk factors for heart disease.
Diabetes
If you already have diabetes, it goes without saying that you should be extra mindful of your sugar intake. Moreover, Type 2 diabetes is often associated with high content of sugar and other carbohydrates. According to the American Diabetes Association, sugary beverages, added sugars and excess calories are linked with type 2 diabetes.
Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)
Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease is a condition where excess fat collects in the liver. Some evidence points out that consuming lots of added fructose (commonly found in sugary beverages and packaged treats) increases the risk of NAFLD.
Conclusion
When it comes to healthy living, sugar is often demonized. But it’s important to remember that sugar is the body’s preferred energy source. Plus, it adds great flavor to food. Luckily, there are many health alternatives to satisfy your sweet tooth. What you need to watch out for is added sugars, which can even make their way sneakily into food that is seemingly healthy.
Added sugars hold no nutritional value and are only stored as fat in the body if consumed more than your daily calorie requirements. Over time, this can put your body at risk for developing health conditions ranging from heart diseases and obesity to metabolic disorders and even cancer.
Even with this being the case, you don’t have to stress too much over every little morsel of sugar, particularly if it comes from whole foods like fruits. If you would like to lower your overall sugar intake more strictly, it would be advisable to consult a dietician or nutritionist who can work out a specific meal plan for you to reach your health goals.
