Kerry McClure – Practical Wellness
April 15 at 5:00pm ·
Sugars in your diet can be naturally occurring or added. For example, naturally occurring sugars are found naturally in foods such as fruit (fructose) and milk (lactose). Added sugars are sugars and syrups put in foods during preparation, processing, or added at the table.
How much is right for you?
(tsp = teaspoon)
The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends limiting the amount of added sugars you consume to no more than:
For women, 100 calories per day, or about 6 tsp.
For men, 150 calories per day, or about 9 tsp.
How to calculate calories of sugar:
There are 4 calories in each gram of sugar.
So if a product has 15 grams of sugar per serving, that’s 60 calories (15×4=60) just from the sugar alone.
How to calculate teaspoons of sugar:
4 grams of sugar equals 1 teaspoon.
So if a product has 12 grams of sugar per serving, that’s 3 teaspoons (12/4=3) of sugar.
Consider limiting your consumption of foods with high amounts of added sugars, such as sugar-sweetened beverages.
Here are some sugar statistics for popular drink products:
12oz Can of Mountain Dew – 46 grams (11.5 tsp)
12oz Can of A&W Root Beer – 45 grams (11 tsp)
12 oz Can of Dr Pepper – 40 grams (10 tsp)
12oz Can of Pepsi – 41 grams (10.25 tsp)
12oz Can of Coke – 39 grams (9.75 tsp)
12 oz Can of 7up – 38 grams (9.5 tsp)
16oz Snapple Lemon Iced Tea – 36 grams (9 tsp)
16 oz Caffe Mocha with non-fat milk & whip – 36 grams (9 tsp)
20oz Energy Vitamin Water – 32 grams (8 tsp)
8.4oz Red Bull Energy Drink – 27 grams (6.75 tsp)
8oz Minute Maid PureSqueezed No Pulp Orange Juice – 23 grams (5.75 tsp)
16oz Caffe Latte with non-fat milk – 18 grams (4.5 tsp)
Try incorporating these whole-food, nutrient-dense, less-processed, closer-to-the-source options instead:
1. Add slices of your favorite fruits and veggies (individually or combinations) – lemons, oranges, watermelon, cucumber, mint, or limes, etc. to a pitcher of ice-cold water for a refreshing and nutritious drink.
2. Puree fruit and full up ice trays and freeze. Place fruit cubes in your water for awesome flavor and color! You could also put chopped-up fruit in an ice tray, add water and freeze.
3. Drink green tea hot or iced. There are many flavors and varieties to choose from.
4. Juice and seltzer! Mix one part 100% juice (juice your own is best) with 3 parts seltzer. Juices like cranberry, pomegranate, or grape. Studies have shown that cranberry juice might help protect against urinary tract infections and kidney stones; pomegranate juice is a great source of vitamins C and B; and grape juice has antioxidants.
5. Lemon water! One of my personal favorites!
1/2 squeezed lemon in a glass of room temperature water.
6. Juice your own veggies. Add your favorite veggies, and even a few slices of fruit, if you want to sweeten your drink, to the juicer!
7. Loose tea is a great option that allows you to get tea’s health benefits and flavor from the actual tea leaf, without any additives. Brewing loose tea in an infuser, a device that holds tea leaves in a mesh chamber that you submerge in water, works wonderfully to bring out the flavor of your tea. Choose from white, green, oolong or black tea. A favorite relaxing pleasure of mine that is also good for your health.
What’s your favorite beverage of choice?
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