10 spoons of sugar a day spell doom
Jan 11, 2005
Did you know that consuming more than 10 teaspoons of sugar a day may be harmful to your health?
By Elvina Nawaguna
Did you know that consuming more than 10 teaspoons of sugar a day may be harmful to your health?
According to Dr. Hanifa Bachu, a nutritionist at Mulago Hospital, each gram of sugar contains about four kilo calories (4Kcal) of energy. So a standard teaspoon of sugar, which is about five grams, will contain about 20Kcal.
For an adult, the amount of energy needed depends on one’s level of activity. An athlete will require more energy than an office worker who sits behind a desk all day. However, for survival, a normal adult needs about 1900Kcal per day. A normal child in early childhood will need about 70Kcal of energy depending on the body weight.
The crystal sugar that we usually use is called simple sugar. The calories from this kind of sugar are called empty calories. They do not contain many nutrients. Because of the nutritional problems associated with it, the World Health Organisation recommends that no more than 10% of our daily calorie in take should come from simple sugar.
So an average adult should not consume more than 190Kcals from simple sugar per day. Since a spoonful of sugar has 20Kcals, nine-and- a-half spoons are enough to reach the daily sugar calorie limit.
If you take a cup of tea for breakfast with three spoons of sugar, another at break time, a glass of juice at lunchtime and another cup of tea in the evening with the same amount of sugar you are already exceeding the sugar limit for the day. This hypothesis does not include the sodas and other sugary things that may be eaten in the day.
According to Bachu, when taken, simple sugar is immediately utilised, so if you don’t expend it, it is stored in your body in form of fats and can lead to obesity.
“We stress that most of our energy should come from a combination of foods with complex sugars like carbohydrates, protein and some fats,†says Dr. Bachu. These foods contain complex sugars, which are preferable to simple sugar.
A lot of times we complain about the little sugar in the juice or tea. And the more sugar we take, the more we crave. Many people in Uganda prefer sweetened drinks like juice and sodas to water. In restaurants it is common to hear people complain about the little sugar in their juice. Juice is just a combination of water, and a bit of fruit.
To give the juice taste, we tend to add a lot of sugar to it. Dr. Bachu says if you are making juice, you should mind the amount of sugar you put into it. More sugar makes it unsafe. “The less sugar, the better. Just put a little sugar to give it taste. If you can avoid it, so much the better,†Dr. Bachu recommends.
Bachu cautions parents to mind what they give their children to take with to school. “Parents should be mindful about giving children too much sweet things. Dental problems are very high among children these days because of eating too much sugar and it affects their teeth as adults.
Also young people who leave alone and avoid cooking end up eating a lot of sugary foods like sodas and biscuits. Too much of such foods is dangerous.
“When you take a lot of empty calories, you take less of other nutrients which affects growth and your immune system. Too much sugar also leads to obesity, which may in turn cause diabetes.
However, Dr Jim Lwanga, a counsellor at Makerere University says that like other senses, taste is in the mind. People get used to a certain amount of sugar and the more sugar they take, the more they crave. He says that we can do without sugar. “Sugar is not addictive. You can stop taking it anytime you want!†Dr. Lwanga adds.
All you need is a firm decision to cut down on the amount or to totally stop taking it.
Ends
Did you know that consuming more than 10 teaspoons of sugar a day may be harmful to your health?
According to Dr. Hanifa Bachu, a nutritionist at Mulago Hospital, each gram of sugar contains about four kilo calories (4Kcal) of energy. So a standard teaspoon of sugar, which is about five grams, will contain about 20Kcal.
For an adult, the amount of energy needed depends on one’s level of activity. An athlete will require more energy than an office worker who sits behind a desk all day. However, for survival, a normal adult needs about 1900Kcal per day. A normal child in early childhood will need about 70Kcal of energy depending on the body weight.
The crystal sugar that we usually use is called simple sugar. The calories from this kind of sugar are called empty calories. They do not contain many nutrients. Because of the nutritional problems associated with it, the World Health Organisation recommends that no more than 10% of our daily calorie in take should come from simple sugar.
So an average adult should not consume more than 190Kcals from simple sugar per day. Since a spoonful of sugar has 20Kcals, nine-and- a-half spoons are enough to reach the daily sugar calorie limit.
If you take a cup of tea for breakfast with three spoons of sugar, another at break time, a glass of juice at lunchtime and another cup of tea in the evening with the same amount of sugar you are already exceeding the sugar limit for the day. This hypothesis does not include the sodas and other sugary things that may be eaten in the day.
According to Bachu, when taken, simple sugar is immediately utilised, so if you don’t expend it, it is stored in your body in form of fats and can lead to obesity.
“We stress that most of our energy should come from a combination of foods with complex sugars like carbohydrates, protein and some fats,†says Dr. Bachu. These foods contain complex sugars, which are preferable to simple sugar.
A lot of times we complain about the little sugar in the juice or tea. And the more sugar we take, the more we crave. Many people in Uganda prefer sweetened drinks like juice and sodas to water. In restaurants it is common to hear people complain about the little sugar in their juice. Juice is just a combination of water, and a bit of fruit.
To give the juice taste, we tend to add a lot of sugar to it. Dr. Bachu says if you are making juice, you should mind the amount of sugar you put into it. More sugar makes it unsafe. “The less sugar, the better. Just put a little sugar to give it taste. If you can avoid it, so much the better,†Dr. Bachu recommends.
Bachu cautions parents to mind what they give their children to take with to school. “Parents should be mindful about giving children too much sweet things. Dental problems are very high among children these days because of eating too much sugar and it affects their teeth as adults.
Also young people who leave alone and avoid cooking end up eating a lot of sugary foods like sodas and biscuits. Too much of such foods is dangerous.
“When you take a lot of empty calories, you take less of other nutrients which affects growth and your immune system. Too much sugar also leads to obesity, which may in turn cause diabetes.
However, Dr Jim Lwanga, a counsellor at Makerere University says that like other senses, taste is in the mind. People get used to a certain amount of sugar and the more sugar they take, the more they crave. He says that we can do without sugar. “Sugar is not addictive. You can stop taking it anytime you want!†Dr. Lwanga adds.
All you need is a firm decision to cut down on the amount or to totally stop taking it.
Ends