Give Me Some Sugah…But Not Too Much

By Sarah Matheny on September 9th, 2009

I’ll preface this post by admitting that both my kids are happily sucking on lollipops right now. In other words, they are just diluting a stick of hardened sugar with their saliva, leaving a nice coat of cavity causing goodness on each and every molar. So I’m not judging.

The truth is, most Americans consume 22 teaspoons worth of sugar a day, or to put that into perspective, 355 calories worth of added sweetness. Your dentist, your mom and the artificial sweetener lobby (Splenda tells me that “Life is Sweet”), have told you that’s too much sugar. Now the American Heart Association is echoing their sentiments.

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The new AHA guidelines recommend that most women should consume no more than 6 teaspoons (about 100 calories or 25 grams) of added sugar daily, and most men no more than 9 teaspoons (about 150 calories or 37.5 grams). The guidelines do not speak directly to children, but I think it’s fair to expect that children should consume less sugar than the average adult.

Bear in mind these guidelines apply to “added sugar,” not naturally occurring sugar found in fruit and dairy products, and not only the sugar that you personally add to foods out of your sugar bowl. “Added sugar” includes any sugar found in processed foods, and believe me, there is plenty. The main culprits are soda, cereal, fruit “juice” blends, cookies and crackers. Sugar by any other name (i.e. dextrose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, etc.) is still sugar.

Where does the AHA get off raining on and melting the cotton candy in our sugar parade? While sugar itself is not linked to poor heart health directly, obesity and high blood pressure are, and “the white devil” is blamed as a major contributor in developing both of those conditions.

What is a parent to do? Read labels and eliminate items with excessive sugar. The guidelines suggest a 40 gram maximum limit per day for an adult male. A can of Coke has 39 grams of sugar. If your child drinks one Coke a day, they’ve nearly reached that limit. And that’s not counting their lollipop (6 grams of sugar).

In my defense, they’re organic lollipops, and they’ve enabled me to finish informing you about cutting back on sugar. You’re welcome.

(Photo By: Make Less Noise)