It’s a good thing you’re already sweet enough, since this month’s wellness challenge is to cut back on added sugar.
Men should consume no more than 150 discretionary calories of sugar per day. This is equivalent to 38 g or 9 teaspoons of sugar. Women and children should use no more than 100 discretionary calories on sugar per day. This is around 25 g or 6 teaspoons of sugar.
Our Registered Dietitian tells us that added sugars are sugars or caloric sweeteners that manufacturers put in foods or drinks. Added sugars can be natural or chemically manufactured.
Examples of natural sugars that manufacturers add to provide sweetness include honey, maple syrup, and coconut sugar.
Even fructose and lactose qualify as added sugars in many processed foods.
Examples of added sugars to look for on food labels include:
• refined white sugar
• brown sugar
• raw sugar
• invert sugar
• malt sugar
• coconut sugar
• molasses
• syrup
• maple syrup
• corn syrup
• high-fructose corn syrup
• corn sweetener
• honey
• fruit juice concentrates
• sugar molecules ending in “ose,” such as fructose, glucose, dextrose, lactose, maltose, and sucrose
So skip the candy aisle and head to the produce aisle this month. You can do it! #behealthywithus
