|Helpful tips offered to reduce excess sugar consumption|
|Written by Holyoke Enterprise|
Many people have a love-hate relationship with sugar. They may love how it tastes, but they also may hate the effects sugar can have on their bodies. As a result, many men and women would love to reduce their sugar consumption.
The American Heart Association reports that the average adult in the United States consumes 22 teaspoons of added sugar every day, which equals 150 pounds per year.
Teenagers consume even more, averaging 34 teaspoons every day. According to Statistics Canada, Canadians consume an average of 110 grams, or 26 teaspoons, of sugar daily. These numbers are more than twice the amount of sugar a person should be eating.
Healthy fruits, vegetables and some dairy products each contain sugar. But refined sugar is what can compromise a person’s health. When more than 10 percent of a person’s total calories come from added or refined sugar, this can prove harmful to both the mind and body.
University of California, San Francisco researchers estimate that the 130,000 new cases of diabetes documented between 1990 and 2000 could be attributed to the increase of sugar-sweetened drinks.
Those who drink 1 to 2 servings of sweetened beverages are 26 percent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes in their lifetimes than those who avoid such drinks.
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