Calories In Sugar: How Many Grams Of Sugar Should You Really Have?
Many of us drink soda and eat delicious snacks and are completely unaware of how much sugar we're truly intaking. They taste good, and you may think working out will suppress the negative effects, but sugar has far more lasting impacts on the body. Here's how many grams of sugar a day you should really have.
Effects Of Sugar On The Body
There’s strong scientific evidence that sugar has a negative impact on health, so it's essential to watch your intake. The biggest effects of too much sugar are an increase in your risk of becoming overweight and obese. The body does need some sugar for energy and to be stored for later times. Nonetheless, when the intake of sugar exceeds your body's need for energy and its storage capacity, that's when it becomes dangerous. Extra sugar is converted to fat in the liver, which circulates in your blood stream. This raises the bad LDL cholesterol, reduces the good HDL cholesterol, and deposits as body fat. Other effects of sugar on the body include acne, diabetes, cellular aging, and lethargy.
How Many Grams Of Sugar A Day
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently reduced its recommendation for sugar intake to no more than 6 teaspoons or 25 grams of sugar per day. This is 96 calories, which many people go over easily. This isn't just added sugar in food or drinks, such as glucose, sucrose, fructose, cane sugar, or cane crystals. It's sugars that are present in honey, syrups, and fruit juices as well. So what does this daily sugar intake look like? Well if you enjoy 6 ounces of fruit-flavored yogurt, you already hit the daily max.
Healthy Ways To Get Your Sugar Intake
Since you shouldn't eliminate sugar completely, there are ways to still enjoy sugar and keep your body happy. You want to go for food and drinks that have sugars naturally present, such as in fresh fruits, vegetables, and milk. A simple rule is to ensure whatever you’re eating has been produced and packaged by nature, not by the food industry. Therefore you could actually consume more food with the same amount of calories and still decrease your sugar intake. Just replace high-sugar foods with less processed, fresh foods and increase the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants as well. If you're unsure how many grams of sugar is in something, read the ingredients! They are always listed in descending order, so if sugar appears as one of the top three items in the ingredients list, it’s best to limit your portion of that particular food item, or avoid it altogether. Then check the numbers and aim for less than 5 grams of total sugars per 100 grams. Anything above 15 grams per 100 grams is high, unless the sugar is coming from fresh fruit or milk. Be sure to start tracking your sugar now!
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-Gina
