Show Parade.com has an extensive editorial partnership with Cleveland Clinic, consistently named as one of the nation's best hospitals in U.S. News & World Report's annual "America's Best Hospitals" survey. Click here to learn more about our health reporting policies. Let's be honest: It can be hard to resist the siren call of sugar sometimes ... and maybe all the time, for some of us. “As a whole, we are definitely eating more sugar than we should,” says Gillian Culbertson, MS, RD, LD, a registered dietitian with the Cleveland Clinic. In other words, it may be time to examine your diet and figure out if you’re consuming too much sugar—and if so, how you might cut back. Here's everything you need to know. How much sugar is too much?Wondering what your daily sugar limit should be? There’s no set number that’s right for everyone. But in part, it depends on how many calories you consume in a day. The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests keeping your free sugar consumption below 10% of your daily calorie consumption—and even lower for more benefits. (Free sugars are added sugars, as well as the sugar found in substances like honey and fruit juice.) The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, also recommends that everyone over the age of 2 years aim to keep their daily sugar consumption below 10% of their total calories. Meanwhile, the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that women limit their added sugars to 6% of their daily calorie intake. For most women, that’s equivalent to about six teaspoons of sugar, or 100 calories per day. In general, the AHA’s recommended daily limit for men is about nine teaspoons. Related:Ready to Cut Back on Sugar? Here Are 12 Ways to Detox and Cut Cravings Once and for All But many of us are consuming far more than that. In fact, many of us taking in as many as 475 calories in sugar per day, says Culbertson. And it’s not like you’re benefitting from the extra sugar. “Sugar doesn’t have any health value to it,” she explains. “It’s just calories without any nutrition.” Looking for sugar in all its hiding placesHere’s where things get a little tricky. There are dozens of different kinds of sugars out there, and you might not even realize that some of them are actually considered sugar. “Sugar hides in everything,” says Cory Ruth, RDN, a registered dietitian and CEO of The Women’s Dietitian. “Sugar often hides in things like pasta sauce, flavored oatmeal, granola, protein bars and even barbecue sauce.” So you’ll have to be vigilant when reading labels, says Culbertson. Would you recognize a hidden sugar on a food label? Consider these examples of sugars that might escape your notice if you don’t know to look for them: (scroll to keep reading) Related Stories
You especially want to watch out for refined sugars, which are sugars that have been processed from their natural forms, like high fructose corn syrup and sucrose. “Refined sugars are just not good for our health,” says Sandra J. Arévalo, MPH, RDN, a national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Related: Short on the Sweet Stuff or Trying to Cut Back? Here Are 11 Sugar Substitutes For Baking In fact, the excess consumption of refined sugar is linked to health conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, among others. And a large observational study published in 2021 in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience even suggests that excessive total sugar intake, especially lactose, is associated with an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Also, watch out for packaging methods. For example, canned fruit often comes packed in heavy syrup, and that syrup is, yes, full of sugar. Arévalo suggests looking for canned fruit that’s packed in water or its own juices instead. Related: Does Sugar Cause Inflammation? Here's How Your Body Is Actually Reacting to All Those Delicious Treats Keeping track of your sugar intakeYou can track grams of sugar, but if that doesn’t come easily to you, you might consider another strategy. Arévalo suggests converting grams of sugar to teaspoons, which may be easier for you to understand. Look at the label and find the number of grams of sugar in the package. Multiply that number by the number of servings. Then divide by four. That should give you the number of teaspoons of sugar per serving. If you’re looking to cut back on your sugar intake, you can start with the obvious candidates: Sugary drinks. Sodas, sports drinks, juices, and flavored coffees are notorious for being high in sugar. In fact, the AHA cautions that a standard 12-ounce can of soda contains about 10 teaspoons of sugar. You’ll blow past your entirely daily limit with just one serving. After you eliminate or reduce the number of sugary drinks you’re consuming, you can start examining your diet for other ways to cut back. Culbertson suggests looking at food labels, and if sugar is one of the top three ingredients, you might want to reconsider. Other places where you might be able to cut back:
But don’t worry too much about natural sugars in foods like fresh fruit, Ruth says. “We shouldn’t focus too much on limiting these types of foods because they also contain lots of good-for-us nutrients like fiber and antioxidants,” she says. Next up: Does Too Much Sugar Spike Your Cholesterol? Sources:
How many grams of sugar should I have in a day?The AHA suggests a stricter added-sugar limit of no more than 100 calories per day (about 6 teaspoons or 24 grams) for most adult women and no more than 150 calories per day (about 9 teaspoons or 36 grams of sugar) for most men.
Is 50g of sugar a day too much?The World Health Organisation suggests that adults should eat no more than 50 grams of sugar (12 teaspoons) per day to avoid the risks of obesity and tooth decay. The UN body even advises that limiting ourselves to 25 grams – or 5% of our daily energy intake – would provide “additional health benefits.”.
Is 100g of sugar a day a lot?How Much Is Too Much? The American Heart Association recommends no more than 6 teaspoons (25 grams) of added sugar a day for women and 9 teaspoons (36 grams) for men. But the average American gets way more: 22 teaspoons a day (88 grams). It's easy to overdo.
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How many gs of sugar a day
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