Sugar makes food taste delicious and can make even the worst ingredients taste good. Food manufacturers know this and since sugar is a cheap ingredient they add it to 74% of packaged foods sold in supermarkets (1).
Many of us think that we don’t eat sugar because we don’t eat cake, candy, ice cream or drink soda. But sugar is hidden in many non-suspect foods. Even foods that are promoted as “healthy” or “natural can have a ton of added sugars. That added sugar adds up. Today the average American consumes 19.5 teaspoons (82 grams) every day. (2) That translates into about 66 pounds of added sugar consumed each year, per person. (3) How much should we be eating per day? The World Health Organization's (WHO) recommends that no more than 10% of an adult's calories – and ideally less than 5% – should come from added sugar or from natural sugars in honey, syrups and fruit juice. For a 2,000-calorie diet, 5% would be 25 grams or 6 teaspoons. Coffee & Sugar Facts The current health recommendation is that we consume no more than 24 grams or six teaspoons of sugar a day. How much are we consuming every day? The average adult consumes 22 teaspoons per day. That is 3X more than recommended!
Americans consume 400 million cups of coffee per day, equivalent to 146 billion cups of coffee per year! 30% of coffee drinkers sweeten their coffee with sugar or some other form of sweetener. 72% of coffee drinkers take their coffee with dairy or non-dairy creamer. Many non-dairy creamers are loaded with sugar or artificial sweeteners. The sugar in milk is natural but a ¼ of a cup of milk will have up to 4 grams of sugar. Only about 28% drink their coffee black. More on our coffee obsession. How do you take your coffee? Black or doctored up? Maybe it's time to make some healthier changes without giving up your coffee. |
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Hello! I'm Jori Zimmerman, a nutritionist and owner of Nutrition Savvy. I work with individuals that are looking to make dietary and lifestyle changes that will lead them to living a healthier and higher quality of life. Archives
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Jori Zimmerman, Nutritionist and Owner
[email protected] 303-585-1025 Tucson, AZ 85715 Disclaimer |