We’re entering the Sugar Season.
It begins at Halloween, continues through Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas, and might not end until perhaps Valentine’s Day.
Candy. Pies. Cakes. Cookies.
Refined sugar, in its many forms.
What’s a wanna-be healthy eater to do?
Make a plan.
What’s Wrong with Sugar?
Americans on average eat 2-3 times the recommended daily allowance of added sugar, which is sugar or syrup added to foods or beverages when they are manufactured, processed or prepared. This is different from the sugar occurring naturally in fruit, vegetables, and dairy.
And all this added sugar – on top of the natural sugars we eat – can lead to health problems such as weight gain and obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.
Too much sugar contributes to inflammation in the body. And uncontrolled or chronic inflammation plays a role in nearly every major disease, including cancer, Alzheimer’s, and depression.
Added sugars, which most often are refined sugars, go by many names on ingredient labels. Raw sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, and high fructose corn syrup head the list. Plus, there’s corn sweetener, dextrose, fructose, glucose, honey, lactose, malt syrup, maltose, molasses, and sucrose.
The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans say that we should keep our intake of added sugars to less than 10% of our total daily calories, or about 15% of calories remaining after meeting food group recommendations. For most adults, this is roughly 50 grams or 200 calories; about 12 teaspoons of added sugar per day.
The American Heart Association recommends even lower levels: Men should consume no more than 9 teaspoons (36 grams or 150 calories) of added sugar per day. And women should consume no more than 6 teaspoons (25 grams or 100 calories) per day.
Either way, read labels and you’ll find that it adds up quickly.
The leading sources of added sugars in the U.S. diet are sugar-sweetened beverages, grain-based desserts like cakes and cookies, candy, and dairy desserts like ice cream.
Sugars also occur naturally in plain dairy, fruit and vegetables, but our bodies digest them differently than they do refined sugars. These foods have other components in them, such as fiber, to help slow down the absorption of their sugars.
Strategies to Avoid Sugar
With the holidays approaching, some planning and pro-active thinking can help keep you from getting off track with your healthy eating patterns.
- Don’t go to the party hungry. Eat a snack high in fiber and protein before going to the event, so you’ll head off some temptation.
- Drink water instead of sodas, fruit juices and alcohol. Or, match them 1:1. That is, for every soda, juice, or alcoholic beverage you have at a party or holiday dinner, drink a large glass of water too.
- Create healthy-eating support systems for yourself, perhaps by limiting the number of high-calorie, sweet and carb-dense recipes you see online and in magazines.
- Reduce or eliminate processed foods, and read all labels to see where the sugar is hiding.
- Tempted anyway? See if you can distract yourself for 5 minutes with a different activity, to see if the urge for that sweet something passes.
What have you found that works for you? It’s your turn. Comment below with your best idea for reducing your sugar intake overall, or avoiding it during the holidays.
Welcome! I’m Amy, an integrative health coach, offering grace and space for a healthier you. This article, recently revised, first appeared as Step 24 in the “31 Steps to a Healthier You” series.
If you need help establishing healthy habits that stick, you may benefit from working with a coach. Amy Hoogervorst helps sandwich-generation women carve out space for meaningful self-care, so they can keep prioritizing who and what matters most. Subscribe to the Well Check newsletter below to learn more!
