Updated: Jan 2018
Our bodies need some glucose, but excessive sugar consumption is bad for our body and brain. How much sugar is okay to have? How much sugar is excessive? Do you even have an idea of how much sugar you consume per day?
According to the ADA (American Diabetes Association) and AHA (American Heart Association)children between the ages of 4-8 should have no more than 12 grams of added sugar per day. Women should have no more than 24 grams and men 36 grams. The average person eats 80-120g of added sugar per day (2-3 pounds of sugar a week). That’s average. That means there are people that eat more than that. Yikes.
4 grams of sugar is equal to one teaspoon (not a heaping teaspoon.) Children should limit added sugar to 3 teaspoons*, but children typically have closer to 23 teaspoons. For woman that would equal 6 teaspoons and men 9 teaspoons.
*note: The AHA recently changed their recommendation for children ages 2-18 to a limit of 6 teaspoons because, according to the article, it is easier for parents to remember. That means they are now recommending the same amount for a two year old and an adult woman? The WHO says the upper limit of sugar should under be 10% of calories consumed, however, they still say 5% is optimal and recommended.
There are many adverse health issues linked to consuming excessive sugar. Some doctors believe this may be the first generation of children that will not outlive their parents, because of their eating habits. Illnesses that were only associated in the past with adults are now common in children. I found this disturbing. There are many issues for adults as well.
Check this post for reasons for you to consider cutting back on sugar.
I challenge you to reduce the amount of sugar you consume.
Let’s take a look at the sugar content in some seemingly healthy foods.
How much sugar do you think you consume a day? Why not figure it out?
Take the Sugar Challenge. Cut back your grams of sugar to a healthy amount! It’s not as hard as your think. Another wonderful benefit is that your sweet tooth will become more sensitive. This will require less sugar to get the same satisfaction.
Resources:
https://www.heart.org/idc/groups/ahaecc-public/@wcm/@adv/documents/downloadable/ucm_463487.pdf
http://www.md-health.com/How-Many-Grams-Of-Sugar-Per-Day.html
Peppers and Planks 
Excellent post, shared via Twitter
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Thank you for the encouragement and taking the time to comment.
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Sugar is just added into everything. It’s quite unnatural for our bodies to process that excess load constantly. I remember reading somewhere that one can of coke is the equivelant of 8 feet of sugar cane or something like that. That’s just crazy.
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It is crazy. Why do we need sugar in meds and in foods like chicken nuggets?
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It’s a trick by the corporations to make them taste better. The book “Salt.Sugar.Fat” is a great resource revealing a lot of insight to what happens behind the food industries. Definately would recommend it.
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Oh, yes. I’ve heard of that book. The perfect storm of ingredients to keep you coming back for more. I’ll have to add it to my reading list.
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