Diet Information
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How Much Sugar Do You Need to Eat In Your Daily Diet?Recommended Daily Sugar IntakeThere is no official Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) or Daily Values for sugar. However, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) advises adults who eat a 2,000-calorie diet to limit consumption of sugar to about 40 grams (10 teaspoons) of added sugars per day. A teenage male who follows a healthy diet can eat about 18 teaspoons of added sugars, according to USDA. (Average sugar intake of teenage males is about 34 teaspoons of sugar per day.) Percentage of Calories from SugarThe USDA sugar guidelines suggest that no more than 8 percent of our daily calories should come from sugar. Over-Consumption of Sugar in American DietAccording to USDA dietary sugar data, we're eating 30 percent more cane, beet, corn, and other added sugars than we did in 1983 and about twice as much as what USDA recommends. USDA urges people to "...limit your intake of beverages and foods that are high in added sugars." High Sugar FoodsUsing 40 grams as the Daily Value for added sugars might reveal the high-sugar levels in many foods. For example, a cup of regular ice cream contains 60 percent of the proposed Daily Value for sugar, a typical cup of fruit-flavored yogurt contains 70 percent, and a 12-ounce soft drink or quarter-cup of pancake syrup contains 100 percent. Refined Sugars and Carbs in DietAdded sugar in refined carbs is now considered to increase the risk of insulin resistance and impairment of the insulin function in the pancreas, triggering diabetes. High Sugar Diets and ObesityHigh sugar diets, or high glycemic index diets, can cause excessive calorie-intake and obesity. If we eat a high glycemic food or a high glycemic load meal, which by definition triggers a rapid rise in our blood sugar levels, our pancreas is over-stimulated and releases a much larger amount of insulin. Result? This large quantity of insulin rapidly mops up the excess sugar in our bloodstream causing our blood sugar levels to dip quickly below normal, causing us to feel hungry once more. So even though we may have eaten a high calorie meal, we are induced to feel hungry and eat again within a comparitively short time. This process may lead to excessive calorie intake and weight gain, possibly causing obesity. Related Information About Sugar Intake and Glycemic IndexGlycemic
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