Counting sugar

xxjo35

Hello all.This morning I entered a banana to snacks by scanning the packet the bananas were bought in.It says a banana has 35 of sugar however my daily limit is 45g! How can one banana take up most of the sugar allowed or is fructose different??

cmarangi

Sugar is sugar is sugar, no matter where it comes from. But it looks like you are just starting out here, so my suggestion is to only focus on your calorie intake for now. As you get that dialed in, then start to look at macros. As long as you aren't getting your calories from empty sugar sources like soda and cake, you are good. Just take it easy on the fruit. Keep it to 2 servings a day and fill in the rest with protein and veggies.

lemurcat12

Sounds like a messed up entry: a banana has about 12-13 g of sugar per 100 g. Many bananas are more than 100 g (weighing without the peel is the best way to tell), but that would be one giant banana.

Use the USDA site when in doubt: https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/2159?fgcd=&manu=&lfacet=&format=&count=&max=35&offset=&sort=&qlookup=banana

That aside, your sugar is 45 g because you are on 1200 calories. It's 15% of total, based on the recommendation that we get no more than 10% of calories from added sugar plus a guess at how much overall sugar you eat. If you mostly eat sugar from fruits, veg, and dairy or at least watch and limit sugar from other sources, many find it's more sensible just to make sure you are hitting protein, fat, and fiber targets. If you do that it is unlikely you are eating excessive added sugar (or sugar in general).

IME, many people tend to eat more fruit and veg and less starchy stuff (bread, etc.) when on reduced calories, and there is nothing wrong with that -- the sugar goal can be misleading under such circumstances.