It’s hard to imagine a life without sugar. But how much sugar is too much? The American Heart Association recommends that women eat no more than six tablespoons of sugar a day; for men, no more than nine. This means no more than 25-36 grams or about 100-150 calories a day of sugar. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends eating a maximum of 50 grams, but preferably no more than 25 grams of sugar per day.
Does that sound like a lot or a little? Well, when you consider that a 12 oz can of regular Coke has 39 grams of sugar, and even “healthy” foods like a granola bar (8 grams of sugar) and a container of blueberry greek yogurt (14 grams of sugar), are packed with hidden sugar, it certainly puts things in perspective. Most of us consume at least twice as much sugar as the recommendations allow.
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Basically, most of the sugar we consume isn’t even intentional. It is hidden in sweets, cakes, and juice, as well as a lot of processed foods. And, it is not always easily recognized in ingredient lists.
Hidden sugar
Sugar often appears in lists of ingredients under many different names. This makes it difficult to recognize the actual sugar content of a product. Some common terms under which sugar can appear in foods include:
Sucrose: the chemical term for table sugar.
Glucose, glucose syrup, or dextrose: often found in processed foods.
Fructose: fruit sugar, often found in fruit or corn syrup.
Corn syrup (high-fructose corn syrup): highly processed sugar syrup used in many soft drinks.
Maltose: malt sugar, often found in bread and beer.
Dextrose: another form of glucose.
Lactose: milk sugar found in dairy products.
Invert sugar: a sugar that results from the breakdown of sucrose and is found in many confectionery products.
Honey: often perceived as “natural”—but it is a form of sugar.
Agave syrup, maple syrup or rice syrup: alternative sweeteners that also contain sugar.
By Vogue