» Avoid eating too much fat, too much sugar or too much salt » – who hasn’t heard this recommendation?
While it’s important to eat a balanced diet, how much sugar can you consume in a day before it becomes too much? Let’s find out!
Is sugar consumption bad for your health?
Healthy eating means eating a balanced diet that includes the fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meat, fish, cereals and legumes needed to provide our bodies with the nutrients they need!
Nonetheless, sugar is now ubiquitous in our diet: it’s everywhere! So it’s hard to avoid it altogether.
Many products such as sauces, drinks, soups, cookies, ready meals and yoghurts contain hidden sugars!
Added sugars are a major cause of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity !
Excessive sugar consumption has a negative impact on long-term health. However, fruits and vegetables also contain natural sugars, but are rich in nutrients essential for good health.
Choose natural sources of sugar!
How much sugar can you eat in a day?
The WHO recommends that so-called free sugars (i.e. added sugars) should account for no more than 10% of daily energy intake! In other words, for :
- Adults, no more than 30 g of free sugars per day (about 7 pieces of sugar)
- Children aged 7 to 10, no more than 24 g of free sugars per day (about 6 pieces of sugar)
- Children aged 4 to 6, no more than 19 g of free sugars a day (5 sugar cubes).
However, these portions can be quickly reached! And with good reason: a 500ml bottle of Coca-Cola contains around 54g of sugar!
A bar of chocolate contains about 24 g of sugar, and a 100 ml sweetened fruit juice contains 9.8 g of sugar!