How Much Is Actually Recommended Daily Sugar Intake?

Recent research from the WHO show that the rate of safe limit sugar intake should be reduced. So actually how much sugar is recommended per day?

Not only the WHO, the British government advisor has also recently been reducing the number of recommendations sugar consumption. Earlier said that we could eat sugar by 10% of the calories we eat. However, this figure has now lowered. WHO recommends we consume 5% sugar. BMC Public Health journal suggests even lower number, only 3%. Researchers from University College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said that, this number should decrease because sugar is the main cause of tooth decay.

By reducing the consumption of sugar, dental disease can be prevented. If we only consume 0-5% of sugar per day, the teeth become twice as powerful and protected from damage. People often wonder how much sugar should we consume per day. For men, 5% sugar, approximately is as much as seven to eight teaspoons. As for women, 5% sugar is five to six teaspoons.

This target is actually quite difficult to meet due to the current range of foods on the market contain so much sugar. A glass of carbonated beverages containing sugar can often be as much as 5%. In fact, we probably not only consume the sugar from that drinks. To overcome that problem, the researchers suggest a vending machine that provides high-sugar drinks in schools and hospitals immediately eliminated. Food or beverage with sugar content of more than 2.5% should also be labeled as 'high in sugar'.

Sweet intake needed by the body as an energy source. Both in children and adults, sweet intake is also necessary to stimulate the brain. However, when eating sugar exceeds recommended levels, the body will increase the release of calcium through urine water, which not only cause dental caries, but also some serious illnesses such as diabetes and its complications such as heart disease. The danger is, when humans consume too much added sugar. Because the daily menu intake, has to contain natural sugars such as rice and fruits are eaten.

According to the recommendations of the WHO, children aged 1-3 years old are advised not to consume more than 25 grams of added sugar per day, equivalent to five teaspoons. While children aged 4-6 years should not consume more than 38 grams of added sugar or equivalent 8 teaspoons per day. Meanwhile, the safe limit for men and women as mentioned above also depends on age, weight, and how active you are throughout the day. For adults, 5-8 teaspoons of sugar is the maximum limit.

If a person consumes more than 100 grams of sugar, it can reduce the ability of white blood cells to kill bacteria or viruses that are detrimental to health in the body by 40 percent. The immune system will begin to decrease 30 minutes after food is consumed and will continue to decrease up to 5 hours.