We often hear about sugars and added sugars. But when it comes to our health, is there really a difference? According to some, both should be taken into account when we think about how much sugar to eat every day, according to others, not.
Sugars and added sugars: what are the guidelines
Second the World Health Organization guidelines you should never exceed 10% of your daily calorie intake. So, if we eat 2,000 calories a day, a maximum of 200 can come from sugar. The WHO count excludes so-called intrinsic sugars. These are those naturally present in fruit and vegetables and those found in milk and yogurt. There Italian Society of Human Nutrition (SINU) makes no difference, but recommends that you not exceed 15% of your daily calorie intake.
Other experts maintain that the figure that should never be exceeded is 50 grams per day for an average adult. Of course, everything changes if, for example, we suffer from diabetes or metabolic syndrome.
Sugars and added sugars: what’s the difference?
Returning to the difference between sugars, it’s simply the provenance: the former are naturally contained in foods, the latter are added in their preparation.
The classic example is that of yogurt:
Whole plain yogurt contains sugars. They generally correspond to 4-4.5% of total calories. Fruit yogurt, on the other hand, also has added sugars to make it more palatable. To find out how many sugars are added, simply subtract those naturally contained from the total amount.
Natural sugars are digested more slowly
The so-called natural sugars are sugars, but our body digests and absorbs them more slowly. This allows us not to have high blood sugar peaks in the blood. That’s why many scientific societies, including the World Health Organization, have decided to keep them out of the total count.
The added ones are caloric and devoid of nutrients
The added sugars they are generally sucrose and high fructose corn syrup that were added during the processing of that product. They are sugars that contain many calories and no nutrients and raise the risk of blood sugar levels. The classic examples are sugary drinks or cakes, but all processed foods contain them. We are talking about sauces, condiments, industrial bread.