The average American consumes approximately 22 1/2 teaspoons, or 355 calories, of added sugar per day, according to the American Heart Association. For women, this is more than three times the recommended amount. Eating too much added sugar is associated with high blood pressure, obesity, tooth decay and increased risk of heart disease and stroke. Foods that contain significant amounts of added sugar usually provide a high number of calories with little nutritional value.
Added Sugar
Added sugar is defined as a syrup or sugar that's incorporated to sweeten food, either during processing, in the kitchen or at the table. Cane sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, corn sweetener, high-fructose corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, glucose and sucrose are some of the ingredients food manufacturers commonly use to sweeten processed food. Sweeteners typically found in the kitchen or at the table include honey, agave syrup, maple syrup, molasses, raw sugar and brown sugar. Naturally occurring sugars, such as those found in fruits, vegetables and dairy, aren’t considered added sugars and don’t fall under the same guidelines.
Discretionary Calories
You can divide your daily calories into essentials and discretionary extras. Your essential calories include the foods your body needs to meet its nutritional requirements. Fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, lean proteins and low-fat, unsweetened dairy fall into the essential category. If you meet your body’s nutritional requirements before consuming a day’s worth of calories, you can consume the leftover, or discretionary, calories in the form of alcohol; foods higher in saturated fat, such as butter; or foods high in added sugar, such as regular soda or cookies.
Daily Sugar Limit
The number of discretionary calories you can consume depends on your age, gender and activity level. Sedentary women between the ages of 19 and 30 generally need 2,000 calories per day, with 265 of these consumed as discretionary calories. Active women in the same age group may consume upward of 2,400 calories per day, with up to 360 calories allotted as discretionary. Sedentary women ages 31 to 50 have reduced calorie needs. Of their 1,800 daily calories, 195 are discretionary. For their active counterparts, who may consume up to 2,200 calories per day, as many as 290 calories are discretionary. Inactive women over the age of 51 generally only need to consume 1,600 calories per day, 130 of which can be discretionary. Physically active women of the same age group may require upwards of 2,200 calories, of which as many as 290 are discretionary.
Considerations
No matter what your discretionary calorie allowance, the American Heart Association recommends that you limit your consumption of added sugars to half of your allowance. According to the Association, this means that most American women shouldn’t consume more than 100 calories, or 6 teaspoons of added sugar per day.
Discerning between essential and discretionary calories can sometimes be confusing -- a cup of low-fat yogurt may be nutritious, but if it's sweetened with added sugars, it could also represent your entire discretionary calorie budget for the day.
References
- Mayo Clinic; Added Sugar: Don’t Get Sabotaged by Sweeteners; April 2011
- American Heart Association; Sugars and Carbohydrates; October 2010
- American Heart Association; Association Recommends Reduced Intake of Added Sugars; August 2009
- MyPyramid.gov: What Are Discretionary Calories?
- MyPyramid.gov: How Many Discretionary Calories Can I Have?
- MyPyramid.gov: What Are “Added Sugars”?
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