Why is it that anything that’s fun to eat turns out to be unhealthy? And in the case of sugar, it seems to be getting worse.
After the World Health Organization recommended last year that people should lower the amount of sugar they consume to less than 5% of their daily caloric intake, a scientific advisory council in the UK is now urging their government to recommend the same thing to the local citizenry.
But, as with most nutrition issues, the people that make the recommendations talk in percentages that make it difficult for the rest of us to put into perspective.
How much is 5% of your daily caloric intake? That depends if you’re a man or a woman, your age and your level of physical activity. According to The Canada Food Guide’s Estimated Energy Requirements the average adult male should consume about 2,500 calories per day and the average woman should get about 2,000 calories per day.
So the new recommendations from WHO and the UK mean that men should get only 125 of their daily calories from dietary sugar (about 8 teaspoons); and women only 100 sugar-based calories (about 6 teaspoons).
The Shocker for Pop Lovers
To make the picture even clearer, with about 10 teaspoons of sugar, a can of Coke delivers – are you ready for this – 140 calories from sugar: 12% and 40% more sugar calories for men and women respectively than the daily recommendations made by WHO and the UK Advisory Council. In a single can.
Even More Perspective
You get lots of sugar from all kinds of foods every day. It helps to understand how easy it is to get too much – whether or not you agree with the expert recommendations. Below are percentages of the recommended daily intake of sugar that you get from some common grocery store items (based on an average adult diet of 2,250 calories):
- 28% in 2 tablespoons of Heinz Ketchup
- 64% in 2 Quaker Yogurt Granola Bars
- 71% in 1 cup of Prego Spaghetti Sauce
- 78% in 100g of BelVita Oatmeal Crunch
- 96% in 6 “30% Less Fat” Oreo Cookies
From tooth decay to unstable insulin levels in your body, the negative health and nutrition effects of sugar go far beyond getting too many calories. But obesity is by far the most prevalent and harmful consequence of eating too much sugar.
To learn more about how to reduce the amount of sugar you eat, and other ways to healthily lose weight and keep it off, please visit your local Herbal One Centre where a nutritional consultant is ready to answer your questions.