Like right now. Start today or tomorrow.
The American Heart Association recommends:
20g for women.
36g for men.
12g for kids.
***1 soda has more sugar than our recommended daily amount
**Take a look at your recommended daily allowance, then take another look at these drinks...
....now add that to all of the food you consume with added sugar, and it makes sense as to why we struggle with weight loss.
..plus all of the not so obvious issues we run into.
Here's a nice list of other things you can acquire from an excess amount of sugar:
I am curious, mostly. But I also think it's ridiculous how much sugar gets into our food. Food that normally wouldn't have, or simply doesn't need sugar.
Sugar has been proven scientifically to be addictive. (studies have been conducted at Yale and Princeton)
Sugar increases inflammation- especially in cardiac tissue, which can damage the heart and result in heart disease.
The Pancreas has to work on overload when you put excess amounts of sugar in your body, so it's releasing a ton of insulin, until your body is unable to utilize it effectively, thus pumping out more and more, and voila, you have type 2 diabetes.
12,000-24,000 people lose their sight to diabetes EVERY YEAR.
The liver converts sugar to fat.
Sugar weakens neutrophils- which are a type of white bloods cells.
Sugar also interferes with the transport of vitamin C from the intestine, which also weakens your immune system function.
Sugar is a leading contributor to obesity, which affects more than 1/3 of the U.S. population.
60-70% of diabetics have nerve damage, which can lead to lower limb amputations. (working in healthcare, I have seen a TON of diabetic-related amputations. they are nothing short of uncommon)
Here's one for the ladies: SUGAR DAMAGES COLLAGEN. once collagen is damaged, it becomes dry and brittle, resulting in WRINKLES!!
SUGAR SUPPRESSES BDNF!!
If you haven't read my blog about our brains shrinking, read it HERE!
It is VERY important that you don't perceive a lack of sugar as depriving yourself of anything.
So be kind to your body and love yourself enough to make well-informed decisions about your health.
To sum up sugar consumption: If you want to be fat, look really old, minimize your brain's ability to learn, and acquire an insane amount of health problems, keep overindulging.
Read a study published by PubMed HERE about consuming a diet high in fat and refined sugar.
If you want, of course!
So enlightening... I would've NEVER guessed that 1 can of red bull exceeds the recommended daily allowance of sugar (for women). & what an awesome challenge to just *observe* the amount of sugar we typically consume in a day. Change begins with awareness. Thank you Nancy Pants!!...for creating this avenue of awakening.
ReplyDeleteMY FAVORITE PART:
"It is VERY important that you don't perceive a lack of sugar as depriving yourself of anything."
Ive never heard anyone say this before!... & yet its so true.. eating healthy is not deprivation, its a gift to the mind, body & soul.. but many of us were not raised or taught to think as such.. & it can be so difficult to break deeply ingrained habits and patterns of thought & behavior..
So informative & inspiring :)
It's kind of crazy how much sugar we have, even in "health" foods.
DeleteI was looking at flavored Kefirs last night at Whole Foods, and some of them had 20mg per serving...