Sugar makes everything taste good to almost everyone. Because of that fact, food manufacturers have found dozens of ways to sneak sugar into prepared foods in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. Because sugar consumption has increased 50 percent in the past 30 years, it's hard to know what a healthy level of sugar in the diet is. While it may be lower than many of us are happy with, initially, it does not have to be banned entirely from the diet.
Calories in a Diet
The food pyramid, which is a guideline for the types and amounts of foods to consume in a day, places sugar at the top of the pyramid, meaning that healthy carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables, dairy products and meat should all be consumed in much greater proportions than sugars. The nutritional labeling required by the FDA requires food manufacturers to assume an average, healthy adult should consume about 2,000 calories per day. This number should be a little higher for men than women, and varies with the activity and health level of the adult. Sugar should be a small percentage of that number of calories.
Recommendations
Because Americans are consuming something on the order of 22 tsp. of sugar a day, the American Heart Association recommends sugar intake be reduced to 6 tsp. or 100 calories a day for women and 9 tsp. or 150 calories for men.
According to The Diet Channel, there is no formal limited recommended daily intake for sugar. However, most nutrition experts recommend a limit of 10 tsp. or about 40 g of sugar per day, according to the website. This is a little higher than the American Heart Association recommendations. Some figures factor in the sugars that naturally occur in foods and other numbers only consider added sugars, so recommendations vary. Many natural foods do contain sugar and those calories are valuable because of the other nutrition that food may provide.
Added Sugars
Good, healthy food contains sugar. Milk, vegetables and fruits all have a certain amount of calories attributable to sugar. These sugar calories are not to be feared. The problem occurs when someone buys prepared food. A bowl of cereal, for instance, can have as many as 8 tsp. of sugar added. These added sugars make up a large percentage of the sugar calories consumed. One of the biggest offenders in this category is sodas. Sometimes 20 percent of the total daily calories in the diet of a child or teenager has been found to be sugar. "Nearly 40 percent of all energy consumed was in the form of empty calories, with 433 calories from solid fats and 365 from added sugars," according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Children also consume larger amounts of cookies, candies and other sweets.
Sugar and Health
Excessive sugar intake has been linked with a number of health problems. While sugar itself does not cause diabetes, as previously believed, it does lead to obesity if consumed excessively and obesity causes diabetes. It's a similar situation with heart disease. Sugar may have an adverse effect on rheumatic disease and it has been accused of assisting cancer cells and even causing wrinkles. While some, all or none of these beliefs may prove to be true, the FDA and the American Heart Association agree that moderating sugar is a good idea for health.
Keeping an Eye on Sugar
"Choose the foods and beverages to moderate your intake of sugars," states the the U.S. government's Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Reading labels can help the consumer gauge how much sugar he is consuming. All manufactured foods in the U.S. must provide information about the amount of sugar in a serving, along with the serving size.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Nutrition and Healthy Eating
- University of Hawai'i, Cooperative Extension: Sugars and Sweeteners in Foods
- MSNBC: Cut Back, Way Back, on Sugar, Says Heart Group
- The Diet Channel: Sugar: Are You Eating Too Much?
- Science 2.0: U.S. Sugar Consumption On The Rise
- The Sun Times: Shocking News About Our Kids' Diets
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