Added sugar is the most unhealthy 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?
There is a big difference between added sugar and natural sugar. It’s very important to make the distinction between the two. According to Kris Gunnars, fruits and vegetables contain water, fiber, and various micronutrients. These are naturally occurring sugars that are absolutely fine, but the same does not apply to added sugar. Added sugar is the main ingredient in candies and 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.
What is a safe amount of sugar to eat per day? Unfortunately, there’s 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 150 calories per day (37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons) for men and 100 calories per day (25 grams or 6 teaspoons) for women. On the other hand, the World Health Organization updated its guidelines in 2015 to reduce its sugar intake recommendations from 10 percent of daily calorie intake to 5 percent. For those with a normal body mass index aged 11 and above, that works out to about 30 grams – or just 7.5 teaspoons of added sugar per day.
If you’re addicted to sugar, Kris Gunnars also recommends avoiding it completely. Based on a study conducted by Nicole Avena et. Al, Sugary, highly processed foods stimulate the same areas in the brain as illegal drugs. For this reason, sugar can cause people to lose control over their consumption. You can minimize sugars in your diet by limiting your intake of soft drinks, fruit juices, candies and sweets, baked goods, these include cookies, cakes, and pies, among other pastries and low fat or diet foods which are often very high in sugar.
One should drink more water instead of soda or juices and don’t add sugar to your coffee or tea. Instead of adding sugar in recipes, you can try new ingredients like cinnamon, vanilla, ginger, or lemon. Another way to cut back on sugar is to limit your intake of highly processed foods. This approach doesn’t require math, calorie counting, or reading food labels all the time.
Make sure to read labels and be aware that food producers often disguise added sugar using alternative names. Kris Gunnars states that 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.
PNC-ZDS Marie Claire A. Gaas
References:
- Daily Intake of Sugar — How Much Sugar Should You Eat Per Day?
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-much-sugar-per-day, Written by Kris Gunnars, BSc — Medically reviewed by Kim Rose RDN, CDCES, CNSC, LD — Updated on June 10, 2021
- How much sugar is too much?
https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/sugar/how-much-sugar-is-too-much
- World Diabetes Day: Breaking down the sugar in the Pinoy diet
By Barbie Salvador-Muhlach: https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/11/14/19/world-diabetes-day-breaking-down-the-sugar-in-the-pinoy-diet
- Evidence for sugar addiction: Behavioral and neurochemical effects of intermittent, excessive sugar intake
By Nicole M. Avena, Pedro Rada, and Bartley G. Hoebel: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/