Naturally occurring and added sugars are two ways sugar can be in your diet. Sugars that are found naturally in foods like fructose found in fruit and lactose found in milk. Added sugars and syrups are artificially sugars put in foods during processing, preparation, or added at the table.
Image 1: Natural sugars such as honey and coconut sugar on the right while artificial sugars such as granular white sugar on the left (1).
Added sugars are primarily found in regular soft drinks, sweets such as candy and cakes, fruit drinks, dairy desserts, and milk products such as ice cream and sweetened yogurt. Because added and natural sugars are everywhere, majority of people do not realize how much sugar they truly digest on a daily basis. Added sugars have no nutrients, as a result, our bodies do not need sugar to function properly. The only thing added sugars contribute too is excess calories which can lead to weight gain and then poor heart health.
The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that you limit your consumption of foods with high amounts of added sugars as shown in image 2.
Image 2: American Heart Association recommendations for daily added sugar intake (2).
The American Heart Association has a recommendation that an individual should limit the amount of added sugars they consume to no more than half of their daily discretionary calories allowance. Children under 2 years of age should not consume any amount of added sugar, children from 2-18 years of age and adult women are recommended to consume less than 6 tsp of added sugar a day, and adult men consume less than 9 tsp of added sugar a day.
Sources:
1.) https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/sugar/added-sugars
2.) https://www.foromatematicas.com/daily-recommended-sugar/
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