In love with sugar?
How much sugar is too much for your body?
Adam’s journal
Thanks to my generous girlfriend, who keeps the pantry constantly stocked, I’ve developed quite a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup habit. Obviously, this is something I need to cut back on. But I absolutely love finishing my day with a chocolate and peanut butter treat.
How much sugar is OK to eat on a regular basis?
Dr. Prescott prescribes
Until recently, the message from U.S. health authorities has been vague but simple: the less sugar, the better. But this past fall, the Food and Drug Administration for the first time recommended a daily cap on sugar intake.
According to the FDA’s new guidance, you should limit your intake of added sugar to no more than 10 percent of your daily calories. That means no more than 200 calories — or 50 grams of sugar — a day. So what does this look like? Well, if you’re a soda drinker, that’s one can of Coke. If you’re a Reese’s eater, that’s four peanut butter cups.
But sugar and its chemical twins honey and high-fructose corn syrup are also added to lots of other foods that, at first blush, may sound healthy. I’m talking about things like lowfat yogurt, granola and whole-grain breads. And don’t forget pasta sauce, ketchup, cereals, instant oatmeal, canned fruits and even prepared soups.
As you’ve probably figured out by now, capping your intake of added sugars to recommended levels will take some real discipline. And then there’s the issue of naturally occurring sugars.
You see, our bodies don’t differentiate between the sugars that are already present in foods and those that we add for taste. It doesn’t care that we didn’t sprinkle sugar on our banana; it just knows that when we eat one, it adds 14 grams of sugar to our blood.
I just went to the Starbucks website and looked up a caramel macchiato (mmm, macchiato). The nutrition information lists 32 grams of sugar in a 16-ounce drink. How many of those sugars occur naturally in the milk and how many do the barristas add when they squirt in the caramel sauce and vanilla syrup? Unless you’re a dietitian, there’s no simple way to know, as labeling regulations don’t require restaurants and food makers to distinguish between the two.
Still, even if labeling requirements change, and the FDA has indicated that it would like this to happen, that just begs a bigger question: How much total sugar should we be eating?
The World Health Association recommends a 10 percent cap on all sugars, except for those found in fresh fruits, vegetables and milk. Indeed, the WHO would prefer that you limit your daily sugar intake to 5 percent of calories. That’s one glass of orange juice. (I’m guessing that doesn’t qualify as fresh fruit.)
The landscape is, obviously, confusing. But making an effort to limit sugars can pay big health dividends. In addition to promoting weight gain, newer studies suggest that a highsugar diet also has separate metabolic effects that spur chronic disease by causing inflammation, insulin resistance and hypertension.
Still, as with so many other aspects of diet, eliminating sugar could also cause a raft of unanticipated consequences. For instance, low-calorie sweeteners such as Nutrasweet and Splenda have also been shown to promote weight gain and metabolic effects. And substituting low-carb, high-fat foods can also lead to weight gain and potential cardiologic risks.
I recommend monitoring your blood glucose levels on an annual basis. If your fasting numbers exceed the normal range of 70 to 100 milligrams per decileter, that could signal a prediabetic condition, so you’ll want to talk to your doctor.
Regardless, keeping sugar intake to a minimum is a good idea. If nothing else, go easy on the peanut butter cups. I mean, no one ever said that a Reese’s a day keeps the doctor away. Prescott, a physician and medical researcher, is president of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. Cohen is a marathoner and OMRF’s senior vice president and general counsel.