Sugar SUGAR SUGAR!!!!

I read an article last night that said that men should only have 9 teaspoons of sugar and women only get 6 teaspoons a day!   6 teaspoons is just over 25 grams.  I am a sugar addict. I'm close to 100 grams a day.  I love it. I've been paying closer attention and even milk has 11 grams of sugar for one cup.I'm just wondering if anyone stays around 25 grams a day and how you do it?  How can you eat fruit or yogurt and stay within the guidelines?  I'd like to cut down dramatically, I really appreciate any responses and advice on this one. Thanks!

It may be that the 9 or 6 teaspoons of sugar refers to processed sugar.  I believe the natural sugars found in fruits and vegetables are nutritionally different from the processed sugar.

I read the same article.  It referred to ADDED sugar...not the sugar that is naturally found in your food.

So what is the recomended overall sugar intake?

It shouldn't really matter.  As far as I'm concerned, I don't pay attention to the actual amount of any one component as long as I'm eating a balanced diet and not going over my calorie budget.  I still eat all the foods I used to eat, just in smaller amounts. 

So the only sugar I eat comes from vegetables so generally my sugar intake is very low. A lot of people find this to be nuts that I only eat vegetables and some find it completely unattainable. It was a gradual transition 8 years ago but now I am completely sugar free except from vegetables. Let me just say though, I don't miss sugar one bit... and adore all the foods that I do eat - more than you can imagine - ha ha, bring on the olive oil and fish!

Original Post by bufflara:

So what is the recomended overall sugar intake?

 Overall.. 50g a day average - a couple of ounces if you prefer.   It's a long way below the USA national average which is nearer 200g.  50g is enough for you to enjoy a couple of pieces of fruit, some dairy products and still have room for the occasional biscuit or a piece of cake. 

I beg to differ gi-jane.  At least for me 50g of sugar is not enough.  My average intake for August so far is 96g.  My sugar comes from breakfast cereal (not the kiddie sugared ones), milk, bread, flavored yogurt, two pieces of fruit and 3-6 servings of veggies.  For the most part all the sugar I ingest is natural.

Gia - I love veggies too, but I could never give up fruit.  There is nothing better to me than biting into a sweet-tart raw apple....I feel so healthy when I do that

I saw that article too and I was totally amazed!!!! I just think about all the parents that give their kids crap like sunnyd and soda and then wonder why they have fat kids! I never had any of that **** as a kid. If we wanted soda we got seltzer water with a splash of juice!!!

I am a sugar addict too! This may sound completely lame and it doesn't work all the time, but when I crave sugar, I chew on a piece of sugar free gum.  When it works, I feel great.

Original Post by gi-jane:

Original Post by bufflara:

So what is the recomended overall sugar intake?

 Overall.. 50g a day average - a couple of ounces if you prefer.   It's a long way below the USA national average which is nearer 200g.  50g is enough for you to enjoy a couple of pieces of fruit, some dairy products and still have room for the occasional biscuit or a piece of cake. 

That math doesn't work for me.  A serving of fruit or dairy typically has ~10-15 g of sugar in it (talking plain yogurt not fruity; plain milk not chocolate).  So, two servings of fruit and two servings of dairy already puts you at 40-60 grams - plus incidental sugar from veg/bread (let's say 10 g) gets you to 50-70 grams.  I'm not seeing how the biscuit or cake fits in.  A hundred years ago, the average daily sugar intake was 90 grams (including fruit, dairy, etc.); these days, it's closer to 200 grams.  I think anyone staying under 100 grams total (and under 30 grams of 'added sugars') is doing well.

I agree that the amount of added sugar in many food is outrages. When I moved to USA I couldn't get use to all sweet tastes, but sure enough I'm a sugar addict now. It is easy source of energy and mood boost with horrendous negative consequences (weight gain, depression, mood swings, PMS). I'm glad it is getting some head lines. Poor kids here are fed with it from early childhood and do not know how "plain foods" taste like.

No kidding!  I help out at science camps and one of the things I do is make liquid nitrogen ice cream for the kids.  It's always a hit because of all the cool smoke - plus the ice cream is actually pretty darn tasty.  This year, I've actually had kids complain (to each other - not to me) that it's not sweet enough even though that's never happened in the past and the recipe hasn't changed.  It has either sugar+chocolate sauce, sugar+vanilla or jam in it so it's not exactly unsweet.  (We portion control pretty well then send them off swimming afterward so we're not trying to fatten the kids up.)