Ronalyn C. Dela Cerna – The American Heart Association (AHA) recommended that the maximum added sugar men should consume is 36 grams or nine teaspoons a day, while women should only consume 24 grams or six teaspoons a day.
Sugar is a sweetener. Sweeteners are the most common condiment found in your kitchen or pantry - sugar, honey, or other sweet syrup. These sweeteners are best paired with coffee, tea, or even food. Sweeteners are substances that provide your food or drinks with a sweet taste. However, certain sweeteners are harmful, and some are also good and healthy.
The harmful sweeteners
The bad sweeteners are the artificial ones, such as aspartame, sucralose, and saccharin. Artificial sweeteners are commonly found in soft drinks, powdered drink mixes, frozen desserts, baked goods, chewing gum, gelatins, and puddings. Although it is safe to use when consumed in a limited quantity and contains only low-calorie, it can also cause health-related side effects.
These non-nutritive sweeteners do not only make you feel full or satisfied, but they do retrain your taste buds to crave more sweets. As a result, you overeat and drink excessively, become addicted to sweet delicacies, and gain more weight. Moreover, these artificial sweeteners can boost your chances of having cancer and can damage your blood sugar levels as well as your gut health.
According to some reports, many people claim relief from migraines, depression, irritable bowel syndrome, weight gain, and other health issues after eliminating artificial sweets from their diets.
The better sweetener options
Suppose you are having a hard time cutting your intake of sweeteners or minimizing your consumption. In that case, your best option is to choose natural sweeteners.
While it's true that too much added sugar is bad for your health, there are a variety of natural sweeteners and flavors that may be used to enhance food without the use of artificial ingredients.
Stevia, dates, yacon syrup, raw honey, vanilla, banana puree, molasses, pure maple syrup, and cinnamon are among the natural sweeteners that are better alternatives to artificial ones.
These natural sweeteners contain small amounts of antioxidants such as calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, and B vitamins.
The bottom line here is that sugar is sugar regardless of its origin. No single sweetener delivers a substantial quantity of nutrients, so keep your sugar and sweets intake to a minimum. Consuming natural sugar in moderation rather than artificial sweeteners is the general advice.
