News
New Dietary Guidelines Recommend Slashing Sugar
Story Date: Thu, 07 Jan 2016 16:50:00 EST
Most people make New Year’s resolutions and the U.S. Government suggests one of them should be to reduce your sugar intake.
This week the Obama administration released it’s update to the Dietary Guidelines and the recommendations suggest that Americans should limit sugar to 10 percent of daily calories.
According to a report from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Americans eat about 20 teaspoons of sugar a day. To meet the new guidelines, they would need to slash that amount by about half. To give some perspective, a can of coke has nearly 10 teaspoons of sugar, the recommended daily amount.
Research suggests a diet high in sugar can be linked to obesity, heart disease and diabetes, all of which can have serious impacts on health. “Data shows that people who regularly drink sugary beverages, like sodas, have a 26 percent increased chance of getting diabetes,” says Phyllis Woodson, Registered Dietitian at Eastern Virginia Medical School. “That puts people at risk for heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, eye disease and nerve damage.”
Despite the possible dangers, the report finds that many people don’t follow the guidelines. In some age groups, less than 10 percent of people are eating the recommended amounts.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans is published every 5 years and is designed to help people make healthy food and beverage choices.
To learn more about making healthy choices that reduce your diabetes risk, read Lower Your Risk.