Are you aware how much sugar you are consuming every day? Or do you know how much is too much? Almost everything has added sugar. Actually 74 percent of packaged food has hidden sugar intake! So we often don’t even
Are you aware how much sugar you are consuming every day? Or do you know how much is too much?
Almost everything has added sugar. Actually 74 percent of packaged food has hidden sugar intake! So we often don’t even realize how much we are really eating.
The recommended daily amount for women is 24 grams (6 teaspoons), for men it’s 35grams (9 teaspoons) and for children it’s 10 percent of their total daily calorie intake. But the average American is now consuming 82 grams on average every day — that’s 66 pounds of sugar per year!
Why is it important to not eat too much?
Excess sugar intake is linked with fatty liver disease, diabetes (increased insulin resistance), obesity (increased fat storage), dental health, emotional eating, mood swings, sleep disorders, depression and many more.
So if it’s having such a dramatic effect on our health, and we’re taking in too much, why are we just talking about it and not doing something about it?
Food labeling was introduced 20 years ago, you can now see the calorie and ingredient lists on all packaged food, and finally the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) will now start to make manufacturers print the added sugar amount on food packages too. But still obesity is increasing enormously, and my concern is that we really don’t know how much we actually need, and how much we are consuming each day.
Foods and beverages like soda, sports drinks, cereals, yogurt, dressing, etc. contain too much added sugar. Actually, almost all processed food has too much! And we can’t stop the companies making highly processed food, but we can control our behavior and choose what we buy.
What’s the best way we can protect ourselves?
When you go to the supermarket try to stay away from the middle section — that’s where you’ll find all the processed food. If a package shows more than 5 ingredients then stay away from it. Instead look for fresh, single ingredient foods.
Of course, so many beverages are high in sugar, too. Actually, this makes me ask one more question … if the FDA says we need just 6 to 9 teaspoons of sugar per day then how can they allow one serving of some soft drinks to contain 12 to 14 teaspoons of sugar? Surely there should be a warning on the package that the can has double your daily recommended sugar intake!
We must be smart about choosing what we eat and drink. Control your health by learning, and then maximize your health by putting what you learned into practice.
If you want to learn more I highly recommend you watch Michael Pollan’s new documentary “In Defense Of Food” — it aired last month on PBS (check the PBS website to watch it for free online).
•••
Ayda Ersoy is a nutrition and fitness director at The Diet Doc Hawaii. She can be reached at DietDocHawaii.com, Ayda@DietDocHawaii.com or (808) 276-6892
