Nutrition Tips: How Much Sugar Is Too Much?

Hello.  My name is Breann and I have a sweet tooth.  It really is my struggle when it comes to eating healthy.  I love candy!  And cakes!  And ice cream!  Luckily, my meal prepping strategy and discipline in grocery shopping allow me to avoid eating too much of this stuff.  I still fall victim to random "cake days" at work or slip a brownie or two at a corporate reception.  And I also sometimes incorporate a little cheat like an ice cream sandwich or frozen yogurt into my diet.  But generally, I am pretty behaved.

But the question remains, how much sugar SHOULD I be eating in a day?  When I do my research on sugar intake and bodybuilding, I start to see some discouraging information.  Information like, no sugar should be consumed.  Not even fresh fruits.  Now that is a bit extreme... fruit is low calorie and healthy.  But the fact remains that fruit is packed with fructose, a sugar.  Sugar = carbs.  And carbs = fat when you don't burn them.  So sugar consumption is tricky, especially if you have specific bodybuilding or fitness goals.

I recently came across an article on the web about daily intake of sugar and what the appropriate amount should be (link to full article).  According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the maximum amount of sugar you should eat in a day is as follows:

• Men:  150 calories per day (37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons)
• Women:   100 calories per day (25 grams or 6 teaspoons)

To quantify that, a 12 ounce can of Coke contains 39 grams of sugar.  A 20 ounce bottle of Coke contains a whopping 62 grams of sugar.  So you can clearly see how just one soda per day would easily exceed your daily sugar budget!  

Now, for those of you thinking fruit would be much less, think again.  And this is where I was truly surprised.  One medium banana contains 14 grams of sugar.  One medium apple contains 19 grams of sugar. An apple a day may keep the doctor away.  But two pieces of fruit per day is bad per the AHA!  

Before I continue, let me say that I eat at least two servings of fruit per day because I love fruit.  And I'm not willing to give it up.  But, I like to be informed so it's good to know what I'm putting in my body and how it could affect me.  And I do take into consideration my sugar and carb intake each day to keep them around 40% of my total calorie intake.  At the end of the day, the key is that natural sugar (i.e. fruit) is always going to be 10 times better than added sugar (i.e. granulated sugar in cakes, etc.).  So my suggestion is to be conservative on sugar intake, and try to keep it natural.  Added sugars should be consumed in moderation, like during holidays or special occasions.  But normally, I would avoid candy, baked goods, fruit juices, sugary sports drinks, and anything else that is very high in sugar.  

Notice how I said avoid, not replace.  Artificial sweeteners are worse than the real thing, avoid those at all costs!! (read my post on this subject here)