Take the Added-Sugar Challenge Here

Added Sugar in Gatorade

The average American consumes pounds of sugar each month

The American Heart Association says the average American adult eats about 5 pounds of added sugar every month (1).

Combine this added sugar intake with our sugar intake from whole foods, and the number can climb to 13 pounds consumed per month!

Sugar intake over the years

•        1700s: the average person consumed approximately 4.9 grams each day (4 pounds of sugar each year)

•        1800s: the average person consumed approximately 22.4 grams each day (18 pounds of sugar each year)

•        1900s: the average person consumed approximately 112 grams each day (90 pounds of sugar each year)

And by 2000, the average yearly sugar intake per person in the U.S. was over 150 pounds (2).

How a high-sugar diet leads to chronic diseases

As sugar intake increased over time, conditions like obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, fatty liver, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease became more common (2).

Imbalanced blood sugar is a root cause of many chronic health conditions, and it can occur with frequent consumption of simple sugars (candy, cake, soda) and carbohydrates (pasta, bread, and potatoes) (3).

A high-sugar diet impacts hormones like insulin.  When we eat sugar, the pancreas secretes insulin to move the sugar into cells to be used for energy needs or stored as fat.  If we eat sugary foods often throughout the day, the pancreas secretes more insulin into the bloodstream, which can lead to insulin resistance over time.  Insulin resistance leads to chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension.

The cycle of sugar addiction

A high-sugar diet contributes to nutrient deficiencies as these foods displace more nutrient-dense whole foods in the daily diet (4).  As we consume nutrient-deficient foods, we become nutrient insufficient and over time nutrient deficient.  Nutrient deficiencies then lead to diseases like osteoporosis, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, hypertension, and cancer (5).  For example, one study found that high intake of sugar-sweetened (fructose) beverages led to reduced vitamin D in the blood, increasing the risk for the conditions mentioned above (5).

Check out this YouTube link for more details on what constitutes a high-sugar diet and how it causes nutrient deficiencies and disease.

A high-sugar diet includes foods like these:   

High-Sugar Foods

Recommended daily intake of added sugar

We can find several guidelines for how much added sugar to consume daily. 

The USDA Dietary Guidelines recommend that adults consume no more than 10 teaspoons of sugar daily, while organizations like the American Heart Association recommend limiting added sugar intake to 6% of daily calories, which means about 100 calories/day (6 teaspoons) for women and 150 calories/day (9 teaspoons) for men (6) (7).

Remember that added sugar contains only calories; it does NOT provide us with other nutrients, and, as we’ve seen with vitamin D, added sugar depletes the body of essential nutrients we need to prevent disease (6) (5).

Take the added sugar challenge

If you’d like to find out how much added sugar you consume daily, you can take the added sugar challenge.

First, pick a few days or a full week to write down all the added sugar you consume. 

Choose days that resemble your typical eating pattern (diet), not holidays or vacations, as many tend to eat differently during those times.

Next, find the added sugar for each item you consume and write that down.  Use the Nutrition Facts Label to locate the amount of added sugar in the product – here’s an example:

In the picture above, the “new label” to the right shows that this item has 10 grams of added sugar, which constitutes most of the sugar in this product.

Finally, when you’re done tracking your added sugar intake, assess the amount of added sugar you consumed daily and which products provided that added sugar.

Steps to reduce your added sugar intake

·       If you’ve taken the added sugar challenge, reduce your added sugar intake by eliminating those products that provide large amounts of added sugar to your daily intake, as in the example above.

·       Consume a varied, whole-food diet

·       Swap out sugary drinks (soda, energy drinks) for water or unsweetened teas

·       Consume whole fruits, nuts, and seeds in place of sweets like cakes and candy

·       Blend up whole frozen fruit for a sweet treat in place of premade ice cream

·       Swap out sugary boxed cereals for a bowl of steel-cut oats with fruit and cinnamon