Daily Recommended Sugar Intake??

Nancy_hc

Hi MF Pals! I have a HUGE sweet tooth and though my blood sugar levels have always been normal, and no one in my family has a history of diabeties, I still worry about the possibility and I want to PREVENT it from even creeping up on me. I cant seem to find ANYWHERE a good idea of what my daily sugar intake should be. Most of mine comes from fruit I eat. Is there a recommended amount? Is there a diff amount for naturally occuring sugars vice added sugars? Please educate and elaborate

kittenzmeow

if your sugar is from fruit, I wouldn't be too worried.

jlfred

Very, very generally, you should get between 20-30 grams a day. You can choose to monitor your sugar intake in the settings on MFP. Then you'll be able to clearly how many grams a day you are eating, and how much you need to reduce, based on what should be normal for your height and weight and excercise level.

rockerbabyy

my nutritionist told me to limit ADDED sugar to 30 grams per day... said not to worry about fruit so much, jus candies/sweets/etc

jlfred

There is generally no difference between the sugars you get from fruit and other types of sugars -- at least, not when measuring grams of sugar.*

That said, there's a HUGE difference in how your body uses and is affected by the different types of sugars -- here's a great article on it: http://lifehacker.com/5809331/what-sugar-actually-does-to-your-brain-and-body

*edited to clarify -- when you are counting the grams, there's generally no distinction. I've been given so many different answers to this by professionals, it's so confusing. I've been told that anything from fruit is fine, just avoid added sugar. Then the next person says, "all sugar is bad, you should seriously be limiting your fruit intake." One person says sugar alcohols don't count, another says, "it's still sugar." So, I guess the real answer to that depends on who you talk to.

Nancy_hc

There is generally no difference between the sugars you get from fruit and other types of sugars -- at least, not when measuring grams of sugar.

That said, there's a HUGE difference in how your body uses and is affected by the different types of sugars -- here's a great article on it: http://lifehacker.com/5809331/what-sugar-actually-does-to-your-brain-and-body

Thanks for the link! I know the sugars in whatever are all technicall the same. Sugar in cookies and cakes are all 'natural' cane sugars :P lol. But its still nice to continue educating myself on the matter. Keep the suggestions coming please!