How much sugar per day: Added versus natural?

ldy_78

I recently read that the USDA has decreased the standard daily allowance of added sugar to 25 grams per day for women. I nosed around and saw that this refers only to added sugars. If that's true than what about sugars like lactose and glucose—those found in dairy and starchy vegetables? Do those also count towards the 25 gram maximum? If so, then wow, not sure what to eat, since anything outside of straight protein and fat has some amount of sugar. Anyone have any insight on the matter?

yarwell

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1181259

The added vs inherent (all sugars are natural) is "controversial". 90 grams a day of total sugars is a suggested upper limit in the EU and Aus at normal calorie intakes, MFP are using a 15% of calories basis for all sugar in diet so you should get 45g as a minimum.

segacs

Until package labels start making a distinction between naturally-occurring and added sugars, the MFP database won't be able to track that distinction. So, you'll have to just use your common sense. Look at where most of your sugar is coming from. If it's coming from fruits, vegetables, whole grains and dairy products, then you're probably fine. If it's coming from cookies, cakes, artificially sweetened processed foods, then you may be eating too much added sugar.

In any case, if you're eating at a calorie deficit and feeling satisfied, not hungry all the time, I really wouldn't worry too much about it. Unless you have a medical condition like diabetes that requires you to really monitor or cut down on sugar, of course, in which case you should be on a medically-supervised diet anyway.