Americans have been consuming more and more sugar over the past 30 years, notes the American Heart Association. Excessive amounts of unhealthy sugars can lead to a host of health problems. But not all sugars are alike, and some sugars are better for you than others. Differentiating sugars in your diet is a habit for good health.
Natural Sugars
Fructose, found in fruit, and lactose, found in milk, are considered healthy types of sugar. Fructose and lactose are categorized as natural sugars because they occur naturally in foods. Sugar is a form of carbohydrate, a main food group necessary for energy and good health. If you consume sugars for your carbohydrate intake, natural sugars are recommended.
Added Sugars
Added sugars add calories but no additional nutrients to a diet. Sugars are added to foods for flavor, texture, color and bulk. Looking at a typical American cupboard, you'll likely see the most commonly known added sugar -- white, granulated table sugar, called sucrose. Sucrose is a natural added sugar, meaning it's not manufactured chemically, like the added sugar high-fructose corn syrup. Nevertheless, sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, molasses, malt sugar, brown sugar and corn syrup, among others fall into the added sugar category because they're commonly added to foods, such as sweetened beverages and baked goods.
Recommendations
Limiting added sugars in your diet is recommended by many experts, including the American Heart Association and the Mayo Clinic. The AHA recommends a limit of added sugar per day of 150 calories for men and 100 calories for women. Consistent excessive added sugar in a diet can lead to obesity and tooth decay. Nutrition labels and ingredients lists are a good way to detect added sugar levels in food. The sugar value on a nutrition label includes all sugars, both added and natural. If a food product contains no fruit or milk, all sugar amounts listed on a nutrition label are from added sugar. Overall, reducing sucrose and other added sugars is recommended. On the other hand, eating natural sugars such as fructose is a habit for good health.
Limiting Added Sugars
Take small steps to reduce your added sugar consumption every day. Begin reducing the amounts of sucrose added to cereals, tea and coffee. Keep jars and bottles of sucrose, brown sugar, honey and maple syrup stored away so you aren't tempted to use them so much. Choose sugar-free beverages over sweetened drinks -- and even better, drink water. If you're baking, cut the amount of sugar by half in the recipe or substitute unsweetened applesauce for a healthier dish. Flavoring dishes with lemon, almond, orange or vanilla extract instead of added sugar is also an option.
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