Americans eat an average of 22.2 tsp. of sugar per day, the American Heart Association reported in 2009. The primary foods from which you take in added sugars are candy, cakes, cookies, pies, fruit drinks, ice cream, sweetened yogurt, flavored milk and sweetened grains such as cereal and pre-packaged waffles. The AHA recommends limiting daily sugar intake to 6 tsp. for women or 9 tsp. for men because eating too much sugar can harm your health.
Weight Gain
Refined sugars provide substantial calories but no nutrition. Those 22.2 tsp. daily pad your daily diet by 355 calories---which can cause weight gain. This extra weight puts you at risk for cardiovascular health risks associated with obesity as well as diabetes, high blood pressure and some types of cancer, notes Joanne Larsen, R.D., on Ask the Dietitian.
Tooth Decay
Soda is the single biggest source of refined sugar in the American diet, reports the Centers for Science in the Public Interest. Those who drink soft drinks regularly, or indulge in candy, often suffer from tooth decay because they are exposed to more sugar, which attracts bacteria to the teeth.
High Cholesterol
A 2010 study in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" demonstrated that people who ate the greatest amounts of added sugars possessed high triglyceride levels. They also had lower levels of HDL cholesterol---the good kind. The study concluded that a statistically significant correlation between refined sugar consumption and blood cholesterol levels existed, and this could increase risks for developing heart disease.
Type 2 Diabetes
Sugar consumption does not cause type 2 diabetes, but over-consumption of refined sugar makes you more likely to develop the condition. In the "Journal of the American Medical Association" in August 2004, researchers found that of more than 91,000 female participants, those who increased their consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages from one or fewer per week to one per day gained the most weight and were most likely to develop type 2 diabetes. The researchers surmise that the extra calories in added sugar and its rapid absorption are responsible for these results.
References
- Circulation: Dietary Sugars Intake and Cardiovascular Health
- Journal of the American Medical Association: Caloric Sweetener Consumption and Dyslipidemia Among US Adults
- Center for Science in the Public Interest: Liquid Candy
- Ask the Dietitian: Sugars and Artificial Sweeteners
- Journal of the American Medical Association: Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, Weight Gain, and Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes in Young and Middle-Aged Women
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