Americas Growing Sweet Tooth

  Kara Ghiringhelli, Department of Public Health

 

Kara Ghiringhelli is a Nutrition Education Specialist at DPH

Americans have a love for sugar. The average American typically eats or drinks about 22 teaspoons of added sugar every day, with sugary beverages being the #1 source.

With sugar consumption on the rise, the American Heart Association recently published updated guidelines on the amount of added sugar we should limit ourselves to every day. The American Heart Association defines added sugar as, ‘sugars or syrups added to foods at the table, during processing, or during preparation.’ In other words, added sugars aren’t found naturally in foods, they are added to make foods even sweeter and tastier. The American Heart Association recommends women consume less than 100 calories or 6 teaspoons of added sugar a day and men consume less than 150 calories or 9 teaspoons of added sugar a day. If the average American is consuming 22 teaspoons a day of added sugar, we are in need of some serious help! Including me, a sweet tooth at heart.

Since these new guidelines were released, it has me thinking, maybe I should re-evaluate my own sugar intake. If you have been trying to limit your daily sugar intake and have tips you’d like to share, we’d love to hear from you!

Comments

[Sarah P]

Sugar can be hidden in food like crackers - and sometimes it's called "high fructose corn syrup".

If I'm craving a snack, I'll have corn chips (just corn, oil, and salt) and a dip. I always check the label to see if sugar is sneaking in to foods I eat. I want to save my sweets for when I can really enjoy them - at dessert.

[John]

My girlfriend was just on my case about this. I've cut out pop completely which helps. Also, I switched from a cereal that had 12 grams of sugar to 3 grams per serving. If you can cut out pop, you are on the right track. A 20 oz of coke has 27 grams of sugar alone! One doctor I talked to called it poison.

[patty king]

Add honey into your oatmeal, coffee, or tea. If you do not like honey try agave syrup. No sugar but is very sweet like honey and is a low glycemic food. That will reduce some of the your sugar intake for the day. Small changes in your daily habits will add up to big of amounts of sugar reduced from your diet over time.