How much sugar is the right amount?
Perhaps during No Sugar November, the correct answer is no added sugar at all. Maybe not. The official recommendations vary widely and the targets are shifting every year.
The World Health Organization has the most conservative dietary recommendations. WHO suggests a maximum of 6 teaspoons sugar per day — combining added sugars and natural sugars. Six teaspoons is the amount of sugar in one chocolate bar.
Recommended daily sugar intake
WHO: 6 teaspoons: 25 g: 100 calories
UK: 7.5 teaspoons: 30 g: 120 calories
US: 10% of daily calories
And this table shows the dietary recommendations for India specifically:
Each of the major players lists sugar intake in a different unit: teaspoons, grams, or a percentage of daily calories. Here is the math to help you get the right unit for your personal tracking.
Calories / 4 = grams
Grams / 4 = teaspoons
Teaspoon x 4 = grams
Grams x 4 = calories
Personal sugar intake
How much sugar do you consume every day?
A big factor in our daily sugar is beverages. A 350 ml can of Coke has 8 teaspoons of sugar. That’s over and above the WHO recommendations in a single can. A green juice blend can contain 7 teaspoons or more. Grab yourself a 450 ml caramel latte and you’ve just added almost 9 teaspoons of sugar to your day. Even a modest 250 ml filter coffee has 2 teaspoons of sugar.
While drinks are an easy target, there is hidden sugar in all sorts of processed foods. It’s used to make low-fat items more palatable, to create shelf stability, and to increase sales with the perfect ratio of sugar, salt and fat.
This article from Greatist shows how easy it is to eat a lot more than you expect. And while the food examples shown are Western, the idea applies to Indian foods, too.
How much sugar is in your favorite beverage? Your breakfast? Tally it up and share on the #kilter channel on Friends of HasGeek Slack or on our Kilter WhatsApp group.
