What is a healthy sugar intake? I'm trying to limit my sugar to healthy levels, as diabetes runs in ny family. I am not on a low carb diet, nor do I desire to be. I just want a guideline on an appropriate number of grams of sugar to eat daily.
I have 91 grams planned for today, mostly in fruits and vegetables. That is not including any splurges for chocolate or any desserts. I rarely eat white bread or simple carbs, but I do eat a treat (chocolate, usually) almost every day.
The AHA (American Heart Association) recommends no more than 6 teaspoons (2 tablespoons or 1/8 cup) of added sugar per day. That's about 24g. That would not include sugars in produce.
Some would recommend limiting sugars from fruit also. There's growing evidence about fructose and metabolic syndrome. I'm not yet convinced I need to limit fruit (within reason) if it's not causing me a problem. What "within reason" means is hard to define!
One medium banana has about 14g sugar. With 91g sugar daily from, say, fruits, that would be about 6 1/2 bananas, which does seem a bit much. And that's one of the sweeter fruits.
10 baby carrots have about 5g of sugar, so even with the sweeter/starchier veggies, it would take a lot to get to 91g of sugar a day.
Are you counting all carbs as sugar? If the label only lists total carbs and fiber, the difference is not the same thing as sugar, because complex carbs are included. Some would debate whether complex carbs are really that much different from sugars.
__________________ Started 4/14/08 LINK TO PROGRESS PICS 1/1/2009
"It is impossible to live pleasurably without living wisely, well, and justly, and it is impossible to live wisely, well, and justly without living pleasurably" Epicurus
personally i do not count sugars that occur in fruits/veg/wholegrains as i believe those are healthy sugars and afaik they do not spike your blood sugar level.
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Healthy Sugar Intake?
Started 4/14/08 
