The amount of sugar per day that is safe to eat it also depends on your total daily calorie intake, activity level and other individual factors. However, in general, it’s best to avoid added sugars whenever possiblebecause they don’t contain beneficial nutrients: eating too much sugar can contribute to preventable diseases, provides calories without any added nutrition and, in the long run, can harm your metabolism.
But how much is too much? Is it possible to consume a little sugar a day without harm or is it better to avoid it as much as possible?
Added sugars and natural sugars: a big difference
It is very important to do one first distinction between added sugars and those naturally present in foods such as fruit and vegetables. These foods contain water, fiber, and various micronutrients, and naturally occurring sugars are absolutely fine. The same is not true for added sugars.
Added sugars are the main ingredient in candies, confectionery and are abundant in many processed foodssuch as soft drinks and baked goods.
The most common added sugars are regular table sugar (sucrose) and high fructose corn syrup.
In order not to harm your health, you should avoid foods that contain added sugar. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans for example they recommend to limit calories from added sugars to less than 10% of total calories per day. And this is already a goal that is not easy to achieve because added sugars can also include natural sugars: for example, if you add honey to oat flakes, they contain added sugars from a natural source.
Sugar consumption is extremely high
In 2008, more than 28 kg of added sugars were consumed in the United States per person per year, not counting fruit juices. The mean intake was 76.7 grams per day, equal to 19 teaspoons or 306 calories. The world average consumption of sugar is 70 grams per day, which is about 50% more than thirty years ago. In Italy, sugar consumption is around 27 kg per capita per year. Excessive sugar consumption has been linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, some cancers, tooth decay, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and more. Read more about these 11 diseases caused by excess sugar.
How much sugar per day?
Unfortunately There is no simple answer to the question of how much sugar you can consume per day. 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 sugar you should eat in a day is:
- Men: 150 calories per day (37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons)
- Women: 100 calories per day (25 grams or 6 teaspoons).
To give a concrete measure, a can of Coke contains 140 calories from sugarwhile a regular-sized Snickers bar contains 120 calories from sugar.
Dietary guidelines recommend limit its intake to less than 10% of the daily caloric intake. For a person consuming 2,000 calories a day, that equates to 50 grams of sugar, or about 12.5 teaspoons.
However, this is not true for everyone: if you are healthy and active, these are reasonable recommendations because probably these small amounts of sugar will be burned without hurting. However it is still important to point out that there is no need to introduce added sugars into the diet.
Sugar addiction added
If you are addicted to sugar, consider avoiding it completely. Sugary and highly processed foods stimulate the same brain areas as illegal drugs. For this reason, sugar can make you lose control over its consumption.
The good news is, however, sugar is not addictive like illegal drugs and “sugar addiction” should be relatively easy to overcome.
But in the same way that a smoker needs to avoid cigarettes completely, a person addicted to sugar may need to avoid it completely. For more information, read also Fed Up, the documentary investigation into childhood obesity.
How to minimize sugar in the diet
It’s possible minimize sugar in the diet Limiting these foods, in order of importance:
- Alcohol-free drinks. A single can of soda contains up to 8 teaspoons of added sugar.
- Fruit juices. Fruit juices contain the same amount of sugar as sodas. Instead, choose whole fruit or canned fruit with no added sweeteners.
- Candy and sweets. Try to limit the consumption of sweets.
- Bakery products. They include biscuits, cakes and pies, as well as other desserts. They tend to be high in sugar and refined carbohydrates.
- Low-fat or diet foods. Foods that have been defatted are often very high in sugar.
- Do not add sugar to coffee or tea.
Natural, zero-calorie alternatives to sugar include stevia and monk fruit.
What about sugar in processed foods?
The best way to cut back on sugar is limit your intake of highly processed foods.
This approach doesn’t require calculating, counting calories, or constantly reading food labels.
However, if for various reasons you are unable to choose unprocessed foods, here are some tips on how to make healthier choices:
Know that sugar has many names. These names include sugar, sucrose, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), dehydrated cane juice, fructose, glucose, dextrose, syrup, brown sugar, raw sugar, corn syrup, and more.
Check the ingredients list. Self the ingredient list of a packaged food contains sugar in the first 3 ingredients or more than one type of sugar, it is best to avoid it.
Pay attention to “healthy” foods with high sugar content. Know that other high-sugar foods, often labeled as healthy, fall into the same category. These include agave, honey, organic brown sugar and coconut sugar.
It is good to read the nutrition labels. Even foods masquerading as “health foods” can be high in added sugar.
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