Sugar. How Sweet It Is, Not.


A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states Americans are eating too much sugar and it’s killing us. As the consumption of added sugars rises, so too does one’s risk of dying from heart disease. According to the data, compared with those individuals who got less than 10% of their daily calories from sugar, those with 10-25% of their daily calories coming from sugar were 30% more likely to die of cardiovascular disease and those with more than 25% of their daily calories coming from sugar were twice as likely to die of cardiovascular disease. This becomes even more significant considering that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. The concern isn’t related to the sugars occurring naturally in fruits and vegetables. Instead, it’s the added sugars in foods such as sugary drinks and beverages, candy, desserts and other sweetened carbohydrate snacks. In fact, most processed foods we consume have added sugar to make them taste better. So, read the nutritional labels on food packaging and strive to stick to what the American Heart Association recommends: Limiting your daily consumption of added sugars to 150 calories for men and 100 calories for women.