Yeah, yeah, sugar is bad for us. We have been told this since we were children. So we stopped adding sugar packets in our coffee and we found stevia for baking… But what we fail to realize is that sugar comes in so many different forms and is hidden in our favorite foods. Companies use many other words for sugar and even label their products with eye-catching phrases like “no added sugar” or “all natural sugar.” They are so good at deceiving the human mind. However, regardless of what form it comes in, in the end sugar is still sugar and our body processes it all the same. (Yes, even the natural sugar from fruit can be detrimental to your fat loss goals.)
Food manufacturers add sugars to many foods you’d never suspect (ex. Frozen fruits, bread, dressing, sauces and much more.) Always read product food labels critically and carefully. If it contains any of the above ingredients you should probably put it back on the shelf.
With all these hidden sugars its no wonder the typical North American consumes 34 teaspoons(136g) of sugar per day.
Recommended Daily Requirements
Foods that contain less than 5g of sugar per 100g of food are considered “low sugar”, although we should do our best to look for foods with as close to 0g of sugar per serving as possible.
The USDA recommends no more than 10 teaspoons (40g) of sugar per day. However, if you are trying to loose fat, you will want to keep it as minimal as possible (5-25g).
Your body can handle carbohydrates more efficiently during and immediately after exercise. Therefore, as long as sugars are minimized during other meals, this small amount of sugar might be beneficial to muscle building or performance based athletes.
