Reduce sugar consumption When will the daily sugar dose become a health hazard?

Professional societies publish new sugar limits

Numerous studies have looked at the effects of sugar on health in recent years. Everyone agrees on one point: sugar is unhealthy. High and frequent sugar intake promotes the development of caries, obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Three German medical societies have now published a recommendation on the daily amount of sugar that should not be exceeded for a healthy diet.

The German Society for Nutrition (DGE), the German Obesity Society (DAG) and the German Diabetes Association (DDG) joined together to make a recommendation on the daily maximum intake of sugar, which is just safe in terms of health. They came to the conclusion that the total energy from all sugars should not account for more than ten percent of the total energy intake of the day. The professional societies recently published the recommendation in a joint consensus paper.

Not more than ten percent of the daily energy should come from sugars. Those who want to reduce their sugar dose should first limit sweets and sweetened drinks. (Image: Sebastian Studio / fotolia.com)

How much sugar is too much?

According to the current recommendation, not more than ten percent of daily energy should come from sugar. This refers to all types of sugar, including monosaccharides and disaccharides, as well as natural fructose such as honey, syrup, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates. But how much sugar is that exactly? The daily calorie requirement varies for each person and depends, among other things, on sex, height, weight, age and daily exercise. With a daily total energy intake of 2,000 kilocalories per day, you should not consume more than 50 grams of sugar per day, or 3,000 kilocalories per day, not more than 75 grams.

We all eat too much sugar

As a result of the specialist societies, we all consume too much sugar on average. For example, women between 15 and 80 years of age receive an average of 14 percent of their energy from sugar and men in this age group average 13 percent. Particularly worrying is the intake of sugar in children and adolescents. Here comes the total energy of the day on average 17.5 percent from sugars. The professional societies recommend that all Germans should eat on average 25 percent less sugar.

Less is more

The professional societies emphasize that the new recommendations should not be regarded as a desirable nutritional goal, but as an upper limit, at which sugar intake is justifiable, so as not to promote the development of caries, obesity, diabetes and heart disease. It would be better, however, not to reach this upper limit.

Where does all the sugar come from??

According to the professional societies, the main sources of income of sugar are sweets and sugary drinks. The classic Coca-Cola already contains 10.6 grams of sugar per 100 milliliters. Anyone who drinks a liter of coke has already consumed 106 grams of sugar. The professional societies warn that the consumption of sugary drinks is associated with high energy inputs, without causing a saturation effect. This would easily exceed both the daily recommended amount of sugar and the daily recommended total energy.

Tips to reduce sugar

The German Nutrition Society recommends that all consumers consume heavily processed and sugar-sweetened foods less frequently and more moderately. Sweetened drinks should be replaced with water or unsweetened teas. With children one should pay particular attention to the sugar consumption, so that they do not get used to a sweet taste. (Vb)