Know Your Limit:
- The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that women limit their added sugar intake to 6 teaspoons (25 grams or 100 calories) per day, men should limit their intake to 9 teaspoons (36 grams or 150 calories) per day, while children and teens aged 2-18 should consume less than 6 teaspoons (25 grams or 100 calories) a day
- 1 teaspoon = 4 grams of sugar
- Consume added sugar sparingly (Follow the 80/20 rule)
- Avoid/limit foods & beverages that list added sugar as the first 3 ingredients (Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight)
Sneaky Sugar:
- Excessive added sugar intake is linked to weight gain, diabetes, fatty liver disease, hypertension, inflammation- which increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.
- Name of added sugars:
- Agave nectar
- Barley malt extract
- Corn sweetener
- Fruit juice concentrates
- Honey
- Molasses
- Sugar (brown sugar, cane sugar, malt sugar, raw sugar)
- Syrup (corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, maple syrup, tapioca syrup)
- Molecules ending in “ose” (dextrose, fructose, glucose, lactose, maltose, sucrose)
- and more…
- Artificial sweeteners may have addictive properties. As a result, you may crave more sweets and influence your food choices
How much sugar is in your snack?
Added sugar content in 14 popular products:
Products | Portion | Grams of Added Sugar |
Hi Chew Fruit Chew Candies | 2 pieces | 6 |
Annie’s Organic Fruit Snacks | 1 pouch (29g) | 11 |
Oreos | 2 cookies | ~9 |
Glutino Gluten-Free Cookies | 2 cookies | 14 |
Quaker Oatmeal Cold Cereal | 1 cup | 9 |
Arnold Organic 100% Whole Grain Bread | 2 slices | 8 |
Chobani Greek Yogurt Peach | 1 container (5.3 oz) | 9 |
StonyField Organic Kids Low Fat Yogurt | 1 pouch (3.5 oz) | 4 |
Nature’s Garden Omega 3 Deluxe Nut Mix | 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) | 9 |
365 Organic Tomato Ketchup | 1 tablespoon | 3 |
365 Organic Barbecue Sauce | 1 tablespoon | 4 |
Raw Manuka Honey | 1 tablespoon | 16 |
Starbucks Frappuccino, Vanilla | 9.5 fl. oz (glass bottle) | ~31 |
Dunkin Donuts Pumpkin Swirl Hot Cappuccino with skim milk | 10 fl.oz (small) | 21 |
How to stop cravings?
4 Bonus Strategies
7. Choose whole or minimally-processed foods
8. Stay hydrated with 8-15 cups of water a day (depends on your health, environment, activity, if you are breastfeeding, etc)
9. Get 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night
10. Enjoying your cravings every now and then. If you indulge a little, that’s fine. Just know that you will get back on track as soon as possible ❤️