What Is Sugar?
Sugar is a soluble carbohydrate derived from plants such as sugarcane and sugar beets. It’s often used as a sweetener in foods and beverages. Sugar provides energy but offers little nutritional value.
Understanding Sugar Content: Natural vs. Added
Natural sugar is found in foods like fruits, vegetables and dairy. These sugars are part of whole foods, which also provide essential vitamins, minerals and fiber. This is key because the nutrients and fiber help slow the absorption of natural sugar. On the other hand, added sugar is incorporated during the processing or preparation of food to enhance taste or increase shelf life. Added sugar does not offer nutritional benefits, leading to empty calories, blood sugar spikes and health issues such as weight gain, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Whether artificial or derived from natural resources, added sugar is still added sugar.
The Average Intake
The average American consumes 17 teaspoons of added sugar per day. To compare, The American Heart Association recommends no more than six teaspoons of added sugar for women and nine teaspoons for men. This means the average American consumes nearly double the recommended daily amount. To put this in perspective, one can of Coke contains 10 teaspoons of added sugar — already surpassing the daily recommendation.
Tips to Limit Added Sugar Intake
Luckily, there are many ways to limit your added sugar intake. The first step is to become more aware of what you are putting into your body. Here are some tips to help limit added sugar intake:
- 1. Choose whole foods: Opt for fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean meats instead of processed foods.
- 2. Limit sugar-sweetened beverages: Replace sodas and sugary beverages like juice or iced tea with water or sparkling water. Sugar-sweetened beverages are the leading source of added sugar!
- 3. Be aware of added sugar offenders: In addition to sugar-sweetened beverages, the following foods usually contain high amounts of added sugar:
- Desserts: cakes, pies cookies, doughnuts, pastries, ice cream, etc.
- Coffee/Tea from chain establishments
- Candy
- Breakfast cereals
- Condiments: ketchup, barbecue sauce, salad dressings
- Pasta sauce
- Sweetened yogurt
- Granola bars
- Jams and nut butters
- Breads
- Packaged and dried fruit
- Instant oatmeal
- Alcohol
- Cook at home: Prepare meals from scratch to control the amount of sugar added to your food.
- Read nutrition labels: Nutrition labels are now required to list added sugar in comparison to the recommended daily value. Compare brands to find products with lower added sugar! Ideally, choose items containing less than five grams of sugar per serving and less than 5% of your daily value. Also, be on the lookout for different forms of added sugar on the ingredients list, including high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, maltose, honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, turbinado sugar, brown sugar and dextrose.
- Keep track of your added sugar consumption: Aim to consume fewer than six to nine teaspoons (24-36 grams) of added sugar per day.
By: Faith Leake
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