Knowledge is power! And when we know why sometimes that can be the catalyst to do better.
This information is to help you, your family and friends live a healthier life.
Here are some interesting sugar facts and a link to 56 more.
1) The American Heart Association recommends that adult women and children eat no more than 24 grams, or 6 teaspoons, of added (beyond naturally occurring sugar) sugar and men no more than 36 grams, or 9 teaspoons, per day. The current average is over 30 teaspoons or 120 grams of sugar per day. One 12 oz. can of Coke has 10 teaspoons or 40 grams of sugar. (4)
Here's the scary truth... The AHA notes that, according to the National Cancer Institute and National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found:
Children as young as 1 to 3 years already exceed the daily recommendations and typically consume around 12 teaspoons of added sugar a day.
By the time a child is 4 to 8 years old, his sugar consumption skyrockets to an average of 21 teaspoons a day.
The National Cancer Institute also found that 14- to 18-year-old children consume the most added sugar on a daily basis, averaging about 34.3 teaspoons.
This is a very good reason why illness, disease and obesity have increased dramatically in our children.
2) The only taste humans are born craving is sugar. (5) 😩
3) Heinz ketchup contains 1 teaspoon of sugar for each 1 tablespoon serving.
Sugar is 1/3 of a tablespoon of ketchup. (8)
4) Worldwide, people consume 500 extra calories a day from sugar, which is roughly the number of calories needed to gain a pound a week. (9) According to the AHA, in general the average American consumes about 355 calories of added sugar a day, or the equivalent of 22.2 teaspoons.
The average American consumes triple the recommended amount!
5) Sugar and alcohol have similar toxic liver effects. Additionally, liver damage can occur even without excess calories or weight gain. (14)
You do not have to drink alcohol to get cirrhosis of the liver or fatty liver you can get it from sugar consumption alone.
Dr. Daniel Podberesky, the radiologist-in-chief with Nemours Children's Health System in Orlando, Florida says NAFLD (Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease) affects up to 38 percent of obese children, with rates nearly tripled from the late 1980s, according to 2014 figures. Overall, Podberesky says, between 3 and 10 percent of kids in the U.S. have the condition.
I wonder what it is now 8 years later??
6) Sugar threatens more than your waistline.
Sugar has also been associated with several conditions and diseases, including type 2 diabetes, arthritis, acne, heart disease, depression, thrush/yeast infections, and cancer. (26)
Pet scans are used to find cancer. A radioactive sugar is injected and used to locate tumors because cancer cells absorb sugar more avidly than other tissues in the body. Computerized images light up where the cancer is eating the sugar.
Cancer loves and thrives on sugar.
7) Two hundred years ago, the average American ate only 2 pounds of sugar a year. In 1970, Americans ate 123 pounds of sugar per year.
Today the average American consumes almost 150-170 pounds of sugar each year.
This is equal to 3 pounds (or 6 cups) of sugar consumed each week. (32)
8) To find the number of calories from sugar in a product, multiply the grams by 4.
For example, a product containing 15 grams of sugar has 60 calories from sugar per serving. (40)
9) Many cereals for children, such as Fruit Loops, contain one spoonful of sugar for every three spoonsful of cereal eaten. Often the least healthful cereals are marketed the most aggressively, even to kids as young as 2 years old. (43)
Half of a cup of cows milk adds approximately another 3 teaspoons of sugar in carbohydrates.
Doesn’t matter whether the milk is full fat or skim. About the same.
I wonder why kids can't sit still at school??
10) There are at least 115 names for sugar in its many forms and for other types of sweeteners.
To avoid listing “sugar” as the first ingredient, food manufactures may use a different name or many different names on the label. (53)
I now have a list of 126. 😳 It's crazy!!
Do you struggle with sugar? This is something I can help you with and have a program for!
Which fact was most interesting or unbelievable to you? Let me know below.