5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SUGAR Every time you buy something rich in sugar, you are sending a message that you don’t care about your body, that you are satisfied with food that is making you sick, fat, and unhealthy. 1. WHY SHOULD YOU BE CONCERNED ABOUT HOW MUCH SUGAR YOU CONSUME? - Sugar adds empty calories to your diet. “Empty calories” means foods, which don't have any nutritional benefit. - Sugar promotes belly fat. - Eating excess sugar could lead to weight gain, obesity, diabetes and “diabesity” which bring a host of other health problems such as heart disease. 2. WHAT HAPPENS IN OUR BODY WHEN WE EAT SUGAR? When we consume sugar, our body has two options on how to deal with it: - Burn it for energy. - Store excess sugar in our fat cells. 3. HOW DOES OUR BODY STORE EXCESS SUGAR IN FAT CELLS? - When our pancreas detects a rush of sugar, it releases a hormone called insulin to deal with all of that excess sugar. - Insulin helps regulate that level of sugar in our blood and store all of this glucose in fat cells 4. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ADDED SUGAR AND NATURAL SUGAR? - Added sugars are those that are added to foods. The most common added sugars are regular table sugar (sucrose) or high fructose corn syrup. - Natural sugar is the kind of sugar contained in fruits, vegetables, and other plants. 5. HOW MUCH ADDED SUGAR SHOULD YOU CONSUME PER DAY? According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the maximum amount of added sugars you should eat in a day are: - Men: 150 calories per day from added sugar (37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons). - Women: 100 calories per day from added sugar (25 grams or 6 teaspoons).