Question:
I have a huge sweet tooth. How much sugar can I have without compromising my health?
Answer:
Did you dip into the Halloween candy too many times? You are not the only one with a sweet tooth. Americans indulge their sweet cravings regularly, downing no less than 22 teaspoons of sugar a day on average, according to a 2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Children between the ages of 14 and 18 averaged more than 34 teaspoons a day. A teaspoon of granulated white sugar contains 4.2 grams of sugar, which provides 17 calories.
During the past 30 years, the average American's total calorie intake has increased by 150 to 300 calories per day. About half of this increase comes from liquid calories, mostly sugar-sweetened beverages.
Do you know how much sugar a regular soft drink contains? A 12-ounce soda has about 130 calories, which equals 8 teaspoons of sugar. Drink two regular soft drinks in one day and you've tallied 16 teaspoons of sugar. The sweet tea offered at fast-food restaurants and barbecue joints can have as many as 40 grams (about 10 teaspoons) of sugar a 32-ounce cup.
Recently the American Heart Association (AHA) issued a scientific statement recommending Americans cut back their sugar intake to 100 calories (6 teaspoons) for women and 150 calories (9 teaspoons) for men. This is the first AHA statement to provide specific limits for sugar.
The AHA previously avoided specific recommendations because scientific studies of the connection between sugar and cardiovascular disease or obesity have not been conclusive. However, scientists now believe the evidence that ties overindulging that sweet tooth to weight gain, an increased risk of diabetes, poor nutrition, and cardiovascular disease is strong enough to require action.
The AHA-suggested amounts are for added sugars - those you add when you prepare the food or that manufacturers add during the production process. The major sources of added sugar are soft drinks, candy, cakes, cookies, fruit drinks, and sweetened dairy products such as smoothies, yogurts, and ice cream. The sugar you add to your coffee counts - so does the sugar in your margarita.
A healthy, well-balanced diet includes some sugars, such as those that occur naturally in fruits, milk, plain yogurt, and other foods. Fructose, for example, is a type of naturally-occurring sugar found in fruit and honey.
Fructose is not the same as high-fructose corn syrup, despite its name. High-fructose corn syrup is a combination of 42% or 55% fructose and table sugar. This sugar is the main sweetener used in soft drinks and fruit drinks. Between 1970 and 2000, Americans went from drinking 7.8 ounces of soda a day to 13.2 - a 70% increase. Some studies have linked drinking soft drinks to weight gain and poor nutrition, and the beverages also may contribute to diabetes, obesity, and hypertension.
One study called the Framingham Heart Study found that drinking one or more regular soft drinks a day significantly increased the odds of developing high blood pressure. Sugary beverages now contribute up to 10% to 15% of total daily calories children consume, and some studies show a connection between drinking sweetened beverages and weight gain in children, though experts disagree about how strong that connection is.
Information from NAHNES also suggests that eating more sugar than your body needs for energy results in a diet that does not have enough calcium, vitamin A, iron, and zinc. It's easier to overdo it when it comes to sweetened beverages and goodies than it is with high-fiber whole grains and low fat protein-rich foods. And those beverages and treats are often low in vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals. Eating the goodies instead of the healthier choices means fewer vitamins and minerals find their way into your diet.
The AHA nutrition committee based the suggested amounts on the US Department of Agriculture's dietary guidelines, called MyPyramid. Those guidelines allow for "discretionary calories" - calories above what you need to get your essential nutrients but within the bounds of maintaining a healthy weight. The exact number of calories from sugar you should eat is based on sex, age, and physical activity level. For example, if you are on a 2,000-calorie a day diet, you have 267 discretionary calories, and half of those can come from added sugar. Individuals who are very active will be able to consume more calories from sugar than sedentary persons. An active young person on a 3,000-calorie-a-day-diet has 512 discretionary calories, so he or she can eat 256 calories of added sugar a day. The AHA averaged these numbers and decided to recommend 100 calories a day for most women and 150 calories a day for most men. That means one regular soft drink (130 calories) or one chocolate chip cookie made from refrigerated dough (135 calories) puts women over - and men very close to - their daily limit.
It may be hard to determine how many grams or teaspoons of sugar are added to your food because that information is not on labels. You'll see total sugar per serving, but that number is not broken down into naturally-occurring and added sugar. Check out the ingredients list on the label to see if sugar is listed first or second. A list of some foods and their added sugar is here.
Nutritionists recommend you count calories and get in the habit of thinking in terms of food types: Limit regular soft drinks, ice cream, and sweets and aim for a well-balanced diet based on fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. When you do indulge, have one scoop of ice cream, for example, instead of two or three.