A new food label is coming. Or maybe you have already seen it.
There are some changes on the label that may make you sit up and take notice. One of those changes is the addition of the listing for how much added sugar is in the serving.
Added sugars are sugars and syrups that are added to food during preparation and processing. They do not include naturally occurring sugars like the sugars you would find in fruit or milk.
Why is this important?
Let's talk about a comparison of what is recommended and what the average American eats every day. The amount to limit added sugar for a woman per day is 6 teaspoons. For the man's limit, it is 9 teaspoons.
The average American eats 19.5 teaspoons per day. This is about 66 lbs of added sugar in a year.
That is a lot of added sugar and a lot of calories! For one day, this means an extra 335 calories for men, for women - 230 extra calories, for boys - 362 extra calories, and for girls - 282 calories.
Panera Bread is listing the added sugars of its beverages on the side of its cups.
1 20 oz serving of cola has 17.25 teaspoons of added sugar
Agave Lemonade - 8.5 teaspoons of added sugar
How to change grams into teaspoons.
4 grams of added sugar is equal to 1 teaspoon of sugar = 16 calories
Take the grams listed and divide that number by 4 to get the number of teaspoons for the food.
Knowing and being able to use this information may help you reduce the calories that eat if you are trying to lose weight.
Any questions or comments? http://www.nutritionandhealthworks.com/contact
Or if you need to schedule an appointment with a diabetes educator for label reading help or other needs http://www.nutritionandhealthworks.com/schedule-your-appointment-1
Wishing you Best Health,
Juanita
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/HealthyDietGoals/Frequently-Asked-Questions-About-Sugar_UCM_306725_Article.jsp
http://www.fooducate.com/app#!page=post&id=59A3C0B4-080E-30A6-4932-98FD30F03591
