Why Is It Important To Eat Sugar In Moderation?

Sugar finds its way into all sorts of foods. It is an ingredient in usual suspects, such as baked goods, candy and soda, but it also lurks in whole-grain bread, soup and spaghetti sauce. The American Heart Association declared in an official statement published in August 2009 that Americans eat too much sugar -- 22.5 tsp. daily. Moderating your sugar intake has important implications for your health and weight.

Weight Control

Added sugar adds extra calories to your diet, contributing to weight gain. A meta-analysis performed by Harvard researchers and published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" in August 2006 found a correlation between increased intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain and obesity. The 22.5 tsp. of added sugar the average person consumes daily contains 360 calories -- if you eat this over and beyond what you burn, you will gain more than 37 lbs. in a year.

Nutrition

Added sugar, such as sucrose, cane sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, contains no nutrients. If you fill up on sugary sweets and drinks, you may skip healthy foods such as vegetables, dairy products and fruits. While dairy, fruits and some vegetables contain naturally occurring sugars, they also provide vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber to support good health.

Chronic Disease

Eating a large amount of sugar can affect your blood sugar levels -- leading to extreme ups and downs that stimulate energy highs and lows and cravings for more sugar. Erratic blood sugar levels may also affect the way in which your body releases insulin -- which can result in type 2 diabetes. Although a direct cause and effect relationship between sugar consumption and type 2 diabetes has yet to be proven, a correlation between the increased incidence of the disease and increased sugar consumption exists. Excessive sugar consumption may also cause high-blood pressure and increased inflammation in the body, a precursor for a number of diseases -- including cancer and coronary artery disease.

Recommendations

The American Heart Association suggests that women limit daily added sugar consumption to 6 tsp. per day and men to 9 tsp. per day. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is less specific in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, only asking you to reduce your intake of added sugars. Food labels do not distinguish between naturally occurring sugars and added sugars, so you must read ingredient lists. Look for words such as corn syrup, cane sugar, fructose, honey, barley malt or brown rice syrup, sucrose, corn sweetener, dextrose, brown sugar, cane crystals, agave nectar, glucose, maltose, molasses and fruit juice concentrates.