Sugar Rush

Sugar has a bittersweet reputation when it comes to health. Sugar naturally occurs in all foods that contain carbohydrates, such as fruits and vegetables, grains, and dairy. Consuming whole foods that contain natural sugar is okay. Since your body digests these foods slowly, the sugar in them offers a steady supply of energy to your cells over a long period of time. A high intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains has also been shown to reduce the risk of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers. In the American diet, the top sources of sugars are soft drinks, fruit drinks, flavored yogurts, cereals, cookies, cakes, candy, and most processed foods. But added sugar is also present in items that you may not think of as sweetened, like soups, bread, bagels, cured meat, and ketchup. How sugar affects heart health is not completely understood, but it appears to have several indirect connections. For instance, high amounts of sugar overload the liver. “Your liver metabolizes sugar the same way as alcohol, and converts dietary carbohydrates to fat,” and over time, this can lead to a greater accumulation of fat, which may turn into fatty liver disease, a contributor to diabetes, which raises your risk for heart disease. Excess consumption of sugar, especially in sugary beverages, also contributes to weight gain by tricking your body into turning off its appetite-control system because liquid calories are not as satisfying as calories from solid foods. This is why it is easier for people to add more calories to their regular diet when consuming sugary beverages. We also know that a high sugar diet can increase the chance of having diabetes, obesity, and stroke. So how much sugar should we have in our day? The Institute of Medicine, which sets Recommended Dietary Allowances, or RDAs, has not issued a formal number for sugar. This is because sugar is not a required nutrient in your diet. The American Heart Association does make recommendation and states men should stick to thirty-five grams of sugar per day and lower while women should strive for no more than twenty-five grams per day. Simply stated, American need to move more and reduce their intake of sugars