Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to this question. Some people can eat some sugar without harm, while others should avoid it as much as possible.
Sugar is the single worst ingredient in the modern diet. It provides calories with no added nutrients and can damage your metabolism in the long run. Eating too much sugar is linked to weight gain and various diseases like obesity, type II diabetes and heart disease.
But how much is too much? Can you eat a little bit of sugar each day without harm, or should you avoid it as much as possible?
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American Heart Association (AHA) recommends how much sugar per day we should take, the recommended daily sugar intake, which is healthy and not harmful for the body, has been developed for men and women. How much sugar per day should we take:
- Recommended Daily Sugar Intake for Men: 36 grams or 9 teaspoons
- Recommended Daily Sugar Intake for Women: 20 grams or 5 teaspoons
- Recommended Daily Sugar Intake for Children: 12 grams or 3 teaspoons
Added Sugars vs Natural Sugars – Big Difference
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It is very important to make the distinction between added sugars and sugars that occur naturally in foods like fruits and vegetables. These are healthy foods that contain water, fiber and various micronutrients. The naturally occurring sugars are absolutely fine. However, added sugars are those that are added to foods. The most common added sugars are regular table sugar (sucrose) or high fructose corn syrup.
If you want to lose weight and optimize your health, then you should do your best to avoid foods that contain added sugars.
Next Steps: How to Minimize Sugars in Your Diet
Avoid these foods, in order of importance:
- Soft drinks: Sugar-sweetened beverages are awful; you should avoid these like the plague.
- Fruit juices: This may surprise you, but fruit juices actually contain the same amount of sugar as soft drinks!
- Candies and sweets: You should drastically limit your consumption of sweets.
- Baked goods: Cookies, cakes, etc. These tend to be very high in sugar and refined carbohydrates.
- Fruits canned in syrup: Choose fresh fruits instead.
- Low-Fat or Diet Foods: Foods that have had the fat removed from them are often very high in sugar.
- Dried fruits: Avoid dried fruits as much as possible.
A more comprehensive list:
- White bread (includes any bread with white flour in it)
- Pasta, unless whole grain
- White rice
- White flour, and products made with it such as cake, cookies, crackers, pretzels, doughnuts, bagels, and muffins
- Potatoes and potato chips
- Corn and corn chips
- Sugar and products with added sugar e.g. canned fruits in syrup
- Jams and jellies containing added sugars
- Ripe bananas (green OK)
- Raisins
- Pineapple
- Beets
- Parsnips
- Honey
- Syrups
- Salad dressings and sauces with added sugar, such as Teriyaki sauce
- Fruit drinks containing added sugar
- Sugar-sweetened soft drinks
- Sugar-cured meats (e.g. ham is often cured with salt and sugar)
- Beer
Drink water instead of soda or juices and don’t add sugar to your coffee or tea.
Instead of adding sugar in recipes, you can try things like cinnamon, nutmeg, almond extract, vanilla, ginger or lemon.
Just be creative and use Google to find recipes. You can eat an endless variety of amazing foods even though you eliminate sugar from your diet.
A natural, zero-calorie alternative to sugar is Stevia.
Take these steps to become healthier and happier and have more natural energy from the foods you eat.
Erica Martin, CPT, CF-L1
Tuff Girl Fitness/Tuff Girl Boot Camp
1108 E. Stanley Blvd. Livermore, Ca 94551-3122
(925)518-4114
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