Added Sugar: How Much Should You be Eating?

You don’t need a degree in nutrition science to know that sugar isn’t a health food.

But sugar can be confusing. 🤔

What’s the difference between naturally occurring sugars and added sugars? 🍎🍬

Naturally-occurring sugars:  Sugar is found naturally in fruits, dairy and even in some vegetables. 🍇🥛🥕  These sugars are bound up with health-promoting compounds like vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber.  Sugar has not been added to these foods; it is there naturally.  These sugars are digested more slowly due to the presence of fiber or protein and are found in foods that support a healthy body.  Include a wide variety of these foods in your diet.

Added Sugars:  Added sugars are exactly what they sound like:  Sugar that is added to food or beverages.  These sugars contain minimal nutrients aside from providing carbohydrates.🥤🍪🍦 The biggest sources of added sugar are: sugar-sweetened beverages like sodas, fruit drinks, sports drinks & coffees and sweet desserts like cookies, ice-cream & cake. These sugars are quickly digested, can raise blood sugar levels rapidly and are associated with many chronic diseases.  Set limits with added sugars.

🤷🏻 How much is too much added sugar?🤷🏻

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA)  and the World Health Organization (WHO) both recommend consuming less than 10% of calories from added sugars/day.

Let’s take a 2000 calorie diet for example.

10% of 2000 is 200, so it is recommended to consume less than 200 calories of added sugars.

Sugar has 4 calories per gram so….

200/4  = 50g max of added sugars

For reference, 4 grams of sugar= 1 teaspoon

This equals about 12 teaspoons of added sugar/day.

Which translates into:

12oz Coke (39g added sugar=10 tsp) + 2.5 tablespoons of ketchup (10g added sugar= 2.5 teaspoons sugar)

The American Heart Association (AHA) sets its recommendations lower:  Less than 6% of calories from added sugars.  They also say under 36g (=9 teaspoons) for men & under 24g (=6 teaspoons) for women.

Taking the same 2000 calorie diet, 6% would be 120 calories or 30g max of added sugars.

This equals about 7 teaspoons of added sugar/day.

Which translates into:

1 tsp sugar in coffee (4g added sugar= 1tsp) + Icelandic yogurt (6g added sugar= 1.5 tsp) + 1/2 cup Prego sauce (4g added sugar= 1 tsp) + 3 Oreo cookies (14g added sugar= 3.5 tsp)

OR: One serving of Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia ice cream (2/3 cup) with 31g added sugar (>7 teaspoons).

You can see how quickly those added sugars add up! 🫢

What you can do:  Start by looking at where the added sugar in your diet is coming from.  Read labels.  Often it’s in sneaky places like salad dressings, granola, coffee creamer or bread.  ✨We don’t need to totally eliminate all added sugars from our diet. ✨ Many of these foods are enjoyable and they often help us eat more of the good stuff.  If that honey mustard salad dressing motivates you to eat a big bowl of nutrient-dense veggies, then it’s probably worth it!  Sugar is not toxic and sugar does not cause obesity.   However, most people are eating an excessive amount and that can negatively impact health.  The important thing is to be mindful of the quantity consumed (everything in moderation🙄😅) and use the above recommendations to see if and where you might want to make some changes. 💗