Is sugar sabotaging your health?

This sugar stat caught me by surprise… and I thought I already knew a LOT about sugar.  👉 Eating just 100 calories a day of sugar (which is about 25 grams of added sugars, or 6 teaspoons) is linked to 45 DIFFERENT negative health outcomes.

Here’s a quick rundown of how much (or how little!) sugar that is:

• 1 can (12 fl oz) of regular soda
• 1 cup (250 ml) of chocolate milk
• 1 cup (245 g) of sweetened yogurt
• 2 Tbsp of honey
• 2 Tbsp of maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp of regular ketchup
• 1 small glazed doughnut
• 2 small cookies
• 1 small candy bar

And just for clarification — that’s not all of those things combined. Each one of those items contains about 25 grams of added sugars.

And here are some of the negative health outcomes linked with a high sugar intake:

• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Asthma
• Depression
• Some types of cancer (including breast, prostate, & pancreatic)
• Gout
• High blood pressure
• Stroke
• Obesity
• Liver disease
• High cholesterol
• Tooth decay
• Death

In a study published in the BMJ earlier this year, researchers recommended eating less than 25 grams of sugar a day AND keeping sugary beverage intake to less than 1 a week (about 200-355 ml or ⅔ – 1½ cups).

So what should you do about this? 

It’s true: Quitting sugar cold turkey can be tough. Also, swearing off ANY food is unsustainable for most of us.

We recommend a moderate approach. 

If sugar is a concern to you, make sure you mention this to your healthcare provider, and in the meantime, be mindful of your sugar intake and reserve sweet treats for special occasions.