The Dangers of Added Sugars

Why should added sugar intake be limited?

1. It can be difficult to obtain the nutrients you need, without consuming too many calories

2. Provides “empty calories” or calories that do not provide necessary nutrients needed from the diet

3. Excess added sugars increases risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, kidney disease, nerve damage, elevated lipids, & pancreatic cancer
   

Nearly 50% of added sugar in the American diet comes from sweetened beverages such as juices, coffee drinks and soda. Other sources of added sugar comes from dairy products, sauces, jams, dressings, cured meats, baked goods, cereals, and other desserts.

As of 2020, added sugars have been added to the nutrition facts label; this makes it easier to differentiate added sugars from naturally occurring sugars. Naturally occurring sugars from fruit, vegetables, and milk are not considered added sugars and do not have the same effect of added sugars. However, your intake of naturally occurring sugars should be limited in order to obtain proper nutrition from other macronutrients without over eating.

Recommendations for natural sugar intake:

• 1-2 cups of fruit per day

• 2-3 cups of vegetables

• 2-3 cups of dairy

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommends added sugar intake be less than 10% of total calories for the day for adults. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends healthy women consume no more than 25 grams (6 tsp) per day and healthy men no more than 36 grams (9 tsp) per day. Ask your Registered Dietitian or healthcare provider what your added sugar intake should be.

Some ideas of how you might decrease your sugar intake:

If you love this… Try this!

• Candy bar  Quest candy bar or protein bar 

• Reese’s peanut butter cups Energy bites with peanut butter and chocolate, Lily’s peanut butter cups

• Jello or pudding  Sugar free Jello or pudding , chia seed pudding, whipped cottage cheese

• Ice cream Halo Top or Breyer’s carb smart ice cream, whipped cottage cheese, Greek yogurt

• Milk shake  Premade protein shake, homemade fruit smoothie, “nice cream”

• Peanut butter Peanut butter powder such as PB Fit-mix with water to turn into peanut butter 

• Sauces and Dressings G Hughes sauces and dressings

• Processed grains such as white rice, Brown rice, whole wheat tortillas, whole wheat bread

  flour tortillas, white bread

• Juice, soda, energy drinks ICE, Oli pop, La Croix, Celcius, Crystal light, unsweetened tea, lemon water

• Sweetened coffee drinks, creamer, Protein shake, sugar free creamer, Fair Life milk, unsweetened plant based milk

  milk, plant based milk

  https://www.fda.gov/food/new-nutrition-facts-label/added-sugars-new-nutrition-facts-label#:~:text=The%20Dietary%20Guidelines%20for%20Americans,of%20added%20sugars%20per%20day.