Daily Intake of Sugar – How Much Sugar Should You Eat Per Day?

 

 Added 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?

Added Sugars vs Natural Sugars – Big Difference

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.

Sugar Consumption is Extremely High

It is difficult to find exact numbers because sources vary on this.

According to data from the U.S. in 2008, people are consuming over 60 pounds (28 kg) of added sugar per year and this does not include fruit juices.

In 2008 the average intake was 76.7 grams per day, which equals 19 teaspoons or 306 calories.

According to this study, sugar consumption went down by 23% between the years 2000 and 2008, mainly because people drank less sugar-sweetened beverages.

So we are on the right track, that’s the good news!

However, current intake levels are still way too high and are a key player in making people fat and sick.

Specifically, excess sugar consumption has been associated with obesity, type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, tooth decay, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and a lot more.

What is a Safe Amount of Sugar to Eat Per Day?

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.

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the maximum amount of added sugars you should eat in a day are:

Men: 150 calories per day (37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons).
Women: 100 calories per day (25 grams or 6 teaspoons).

To put that into perspective, one 12oz can of coke contains 140 calories from sugar, while a regular sized snickers bar contains 120 calories from sugar.

If you are healthy, lean and active, these seem like reasonable amounts. You’ll probably burn off these small amounts of sugar without them causing you much harm.

But it’s important to note that there is no need for added sugars in the diet. They don’t serve any physiological purpose.

The less you eat, the healthier you will be.

What About if You’re Overweight or Obese?

If you are overweight, obese, diabetic or suffering from the western diet in any way, then you should probably avoid sugar as much as possible.

In that case, you should NOT be consuming sugar every day, more like once per week or once every two weeks (at most).

But if you want to be healthy, then you really shouldn’t be consuming foods that have sugar added to them.

Soft drinks, baked goods, processed foods… these foods have no place in the diet of someone who is overweight.

Stick to real, single ingredient foods and avoid processed foods high in sugar and refined carbohydrates.

If You’re Addicted to Sugar, Then Perhaps You Should Avoid it Completely

Sugary junk foods stimulate the same areas in the brain as drugs of abuse.

For this reason, sugar can cause people to lose control over their consumption.

 If you have a history of binge eating, failure at setting rules about your consumption (like cheat meals / days) and repeated failures with the “everything in moderation” approach – then perhaps you are addicted (like I was).

The same way that a smoker needs to avoid cigarettes completely, a sugar addict needs to avoid sugar completely.

Complete abstinence is the only reliable way for true addicts to overcome their addiction.

I have personally made the choice to never eat added sugar again. I now haven’t touched it in over 7 months. I’ve lost a lot of weight and I feel awesome.

How to Minimize Sugars in The 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.

Drink water instead of soda or juices and don’t add sugar to your coffee or tea.

Instead of 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.

What About Sugar in Processed Foods?

The best way to cut back on sugar is to simply avoid processed foods and satisfy your sweet tooth with fruits instead.

This approach doesn’t require math, calorie counting or obsessively reading food labels all the time.

However, if you’re simply unable to stick to unprocessed foods for financial reasons, then here are some tips on how to make the right choices:

There are many different names for sugar: Sugar, sucrose, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), dehydrated cane juice, fructose, glucose, dextrose, syrup, cane sugar, raw sugar, corn syrup and more.

If a packaged food contains sugar in the first 3 ingredients, avoid it.

If a packaged food contains more than one type of sugar, avoid it.

Be aware that other sugars often labelled healthy like agave, honey, organic cane sugar and coconut sugar fall into the same category.

Warning: You MUST read nutrition labels! Even foods disguised as “health foods” can be loaded with added sugars.

Take Home Message

At the end of the day, it’s important to experiment.

Some people can handle a little bit of sugar in their diet, while for others it causes cravings, binge eating, rapid weight gain and disease.

We’re all unique and you need to figure out what works for you.

Just keep in mind that when it comes to a harmful substance like added sugar…

The less, the better!

Written by Kris Gunnars at http://bit.ly/1etaNpV.

Myths, Facts And Green Smoothie Benefits For Your Health

Unless you have been hiding in a cave, we are sure you have heard of the astounding health benefits of your green smoothie. But are green smoothies as nutritionally impressive as they seem?
Keep in mind when making delicious green smoothies, you should add healthy fats to your greens. Since vegetable nutrients are better absorbed when ingested with fats.
Try adding full-fat coconut oil, coconut milk, coconut cream, Greek yogurt, or nut butters to increase vitamin absorption. Find out if green smoothies are the best way to get your nutrients in this great article from One Green Planet.

Green Smoothie Benefits

by: One Green Planet
Green smoothies have attracted massive fans from the health community for decades…celebrated for their impressive nutrient content, convenience, and ease of consumption. There are even full books dedicated solely to green smoothie recipes, like Victoria Boutenko’s Green Smoothie Revolution and the recent Bo Rinaldi’s The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Green Smoothies. In fact, I advocate their benefits everywhere I speak, included recipes for green smoothies in both of my books, and even demonstrate them on shows like Reluctantly Healthy and The Dr.Oz Show.
However, there are some allegations floating about, accusing green smoothies of being harmful. They include:

• Raise blood glucose levels
• Enable the consumption of too many calories at one meal
• Damage endothelial cells, cause metabolic syndrome, obesity, fatty liver, etc. due to the high levels of fructose
• Can lead to kidney stones since leafy greens have high oxalate content

Let’s break these down…

Blood Glucose Levels

Overall, there is no science that I am aware of directly implicating green smoothies as suspect in any of these accusations. There is, however, evidence supporting similar issues that people are hypothesizing that apply to green smoothies, too. For instance, we know that fruit juice typically raises insulin levels quicker than the whole fruit because the fiber is removed.
However, with green smoothies, the fiber remains, only it is broken down and may go through the digestive tract quicker than in its whole form. If you are diabetic or pre-diabetic, or are concerned about this, you can slow down the glycemic response (and accompanying insulin release) to a green smoothie by:

• Adding some fat or protein to the smoothie via seeds or almond milk, for instance
• Using more leafy greens and other vegetables (celery, carrots, or avocado) and less fruits
• Choosing higher-fiber fruits like berries, mango, and pears over lower-fiber fruits like bananas and grapes
• If you have diabetes and notice an elevated blood glucose response after trying these adjustments, perhaps you are sensitive and should avoid them.

Calories

When it comes to calories, most vegetable and fruit smoothies can contain anywhere between 200-500 calories per glass. My enormous It’s Easy Being Green Smoothie from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition provides 460 calories for a whopping 36 ounces (equal to 4.5 cups)!
It is so filling, I dare you to finish it! Thus, you can easily control for the calories simply by making a smaller smoothie, using it as a meal replacement, or compensating with the rest of your meal to fit your caloric requirements.

The Fructose Controversy

There is indeed evidence that high intake of fructose may lead to metabolic syndrome, obesity, fatty liver, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, high blood pressure, and even kidney disease (here and here, for example).
But what is fructose? Fructose is a simple sugar, a monosaccharide. For centuries, fructose was primarily consumed from natural sources like fruits and honey.
In the last few decades, a main source for fructose became sugar, a.k.a. “sucrose,” a disaccharide with equal parts fructose and glucose. Additionally, man created high-fructose corn syrup in the 1970s, offering up an opportunity for food manufacturers to save money, utilize the excess corn supply, and sweeten processed foods.
Fructose consumption skyrocketed from approximately 4 percent of total calories before the year 1900 to an estimated 12 percent of calories now.
But just because fructose may be up to no good doesn’t mean that the naturally-occurring fructose in fruits and vegetables have the same impact as the sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup.
This study and this one differentiate and note that not all fructose is the same, pointing out that fructose in fruit comes packaged along with fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals that may outweigh any potential risk.
In this letter to the editor from the Journal of The American Dietetic Association, it is postulated that the evidence pointing to fructose alone as cause for these chronic conditions may not consider excessive calorie intake as a possible confounding variable. It also suggests we need good human trials before we make conclusions on the metabolic effects of fructose.
By the way, the only research on endothelial cell injury that I found was this study that used pure fructose and was performed on rats.

Kidney Stones and Oxalates

Only about 10 percent of the population experience kidney stones in their lifetime. The most common types of calcium stones are listed in this table from the Canadian Medical Association; of which the hyperoxaluric one is associated with excessive consumption of leafy greens and other veggies.
Concerns over green smoothies and kidney stones are in relation to the hyperoxaluria type. Oxalates are salts of oxalic acid, an organic acid found in many fruits and vegetables. They are normally formed into soluble salts and excreted in the urine. However, excess levels may lead to the formation of calcium oxalate stones in the kidney.
This condition is very rare, usually genetically-based or may be due to dietary causes, like low calcium intake. In fact, increased intake of dietary calcium is recommended to reverse hyperoxaluria and prevent stone formation. Dehydration can also be a factor contributing to these types of kidney stones.
For the rare circumstances where there are kidney stones from hyperoxaluria, restricting oxalates may be warranted. There is also evidence suggesting that higher dietary intake of calcium may be protective against kidney stones, a mineral also abundant in leafy greens.
Because of the extreme rarity of kidney stones due to oxalate intake and the fact that most people don’t even come close to overconsuming these foods, avoiding them is unwarranted. There are far too many benefits from their consumption to risk foregoing them.

Speaking of Green Smoothie Benefits…

Here are just some of the myriad reasons to bring back the love of green smoothies:
It’s a very convenient and efficient method of consuming adequate servings of fruits and vegetables.Only between 9.5 and 14 percent of the U.S. population takes in the minimum recommended intakes of fruits and vegetables…and that number includes fries and ketchup!
Fruit and vegetable pureed drinks significantly increase “dietary and plasma phytochemical concentrations with a trend towards increased endothelium-dependent vasodilation.” (George, et al, 2012) This, in turn, decreases one’s risk for most chronic diseases.
So many of us have a tough time remembering to chew our food well enough. Nutrients in plants are trapped within their cell walls. Humans are not designed to break down cellulose (plant fiber). Thus, blending the plants breaks down the cell walls for you, releasing the nutrients, and enabling adequate absorption of nutrients…

Read more: http://dailysuperfoodlove.com/2277/myths-facts-and-green-smoothie-benefits-for-your-health/#ixzz2qz8TYNI5