Six tablespoons of sugar a day, the limit for children
Do you think your children do not take six tablespoons of sugar a day? If you carefully review the content in sugars of some products that you did not think were bad, even of some that are marketed under the "diet" or "light" sign, maybe by the middle of tomorrow your children have already exceeded the limit that the experts advise.
Where is that limit for sugar consumption? The American Heart Association makes it very clear: "children should not take more than six tablespoons a day sugar"And is that a diet high in sugars can cause obesity, diabetes and tooth decay.
According to the World Health Organization, no more than 10% of the daily calories we eat should come from sugar . In other words, if 2,000 calories are consumed per day, only 200 would have to be sugar (an amount equivalent to 6 teaspoons of dessert).
Beware of added sugars
The American Heart Association also warns of the excessive level of added sugars that children take through sugary drinks and some processed foods. Specifically, thesugary drinks They are considered one of the main sources of added sugars in the diet of children. A single drink of this type of 355 milliliters contains 10 teaspoons of sugar, equivalent to 150 calories.
The study emphasizes the "lack of consensus that there has been to date in this field. "That has caused many foods to include an amount of added sugar in the form of different ingredients, which is above healthy.
In the average diet in the United States, a child triples the level of added sugars recommended. And in many occasions the parents are not aware of the volume of sugars that are contributing to them in the diet.
Sugar hidden in food
The World Health Organization notes that excess sugar is not derived from the direct amount of refined sugar in sweet products. It is present in many other foods that we do not imagine that contain it because it is used as a flavor enhancer. When it is recommended to reduce the intake of this product you should not eliminate foods that contain it naturally, but those to which has been added.
Risk of diseases due to excess sugar
Glucose is a simple, fast-absorbing carbohydrate, which is normally found in the sucrose (sugar) we consume. When glucose is ingested, it stays in the bloodstream and is synthesized in the liver to produce energy. The problem is that when it is not used for lack of physical exercise, for example, the excess is stored in the form of fat.
The American Heart Association warns that this excess of sugars can lead to serious health problems. For example, the increase in the probability of developing a cardiovascular disease. This body also warns about the problems of obesity and the growing diagnosis of type 2 diabetes among overweight children and adolescents.
Some foods and beverages contain sugar naturally, but sugars are generally added to them, which are introduced during processing or manufacture. For this reason, it is a good idea to read the labels of the products we buy to identify the amount of sugar they contain. Other names that sugar can receive in the foods we buy are:high fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate, sucrose, glucose, dextrose, cane juice, malt, molasses, lactose, honey, ethyl maltol and maltodextrin.
Damián Montero
