AHA Statement Urges Americans to Consume Less Empty Sugar Calories
A new American Heart Association scientific statement urges Americans to consume less empty sugar calories.
Americans are now eating 22 teaspoons of sugar each day and the AHA wants us to cut way back.
The heart group says most women should be getting no more than 6 teaspoons a day or 100 calories of added sugar. The recommended limit for men is 9 teaspoons or 150 calories.
Rachel K. Johnson, lead author of the statement, said it was time to give specific advice on how much added sugar Americans should be getting and not just advising moderation.
She said about 8 ounces of fruit-flavored yogurt has about 6 teaspoons of added sugar; 8 ounces of low fat chocolate milk has about 4 teaspoons and a cup of frosted whole grain cereal has about 3 teaspoons.
A regular 12 ounce soft drink has about 8 teaspoons of added sugar.
Johnson said calculating your sugar intake can be tricky as the government doesn’t require labels to differentiate added sugars from naturally occurring sugars but the biggest sources like soft drinks and sweets are pretty obvious.
To check for added sugar, watch for a variety of ingredients including sugar, corn syrup, fructose, dextrose, molasses or evaporated cane juice on the label.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a database for the added sugars in some foods.
Johnson recognizes that sugar does play an important part in the taste of food. “If you feel like, ‘I just can’t live with this low amount of sugar in my diet,’ then what you need to do is up your energy needs.”
In other words, she said, get moving.
“We know for sure that if you are consuming excessive amounts of added sugar, you will add calories, which leads to weight gain, or you will displace other essential nutrients,” she said.
She noted if someone drinks their daily calorie needs in soft drinks, they will be maintaining their weight, but won’t be getting any nutrients.
The statement urging Americans to consume less empty sugar calories is published online in the American Heart Association Circulation Journal.
