According to the American Heart Association, adults in America consume an average of 77 grams of sugar each day. This is 40-50 grams more than AHA recommendations and adds up to about 60 pounds of sugar in a year!
The good news is that many adults have heard the warnings about sugar consumption and are making changes to their food choices. If you’re curious about the benefits of reducing added sugar in your diet, check out some of these sweet stats about sugar consumption:
Not all sugars are the same.
Sugar shows up in the food we eat in many different forms. Some foods, like fruit, contain naturally occurring sugar. Other foods, like cookies, contain added sugar that’s refined and not so good for us. If you eat a banana, you’re eating sugar in its natural form along with fiber, minerals and vitamins. On the other hand, a chocolate chip cookie contains processed sugar that our bodies don’t know how to handle.
Sugar hides out in a lot of foods.
Added sugars tend to hide in a lot of foods. And the biggest culprit is beverages. Almost half of all added sugars come from beverages, including soft drinks, fruit drinks, energy or sports drinks and coffees or teas. The next biggest category is snacks and sweets. So even if you don’t think you’re consuming sugar, make sure you double check your food labels!
The sugar crash is real.
When you eat something sweet, your body responds by secreting insulin. Insulin levels increase to move sugar from your bloodstream into your cells. Refined sugars create a steep insulin spike because you don’t have any accompanying fiber, protein, fat or other nutrients to slow down digestion. This quick insulin reaction leads to a sugar crash. Eating natural sugars (like fruit) along with other vital nutrients will slow down the digestive process and help avoid a potential sugar crash.
To learn more about Rhapsody Fitness in Charleston and our range of programs, get in touch with Team Rhapsody today.
