Why the American Heart Association Has Their Sight Set on Sugar

For years now, different health organizations have urged the public to cut back on the amount of sugar that they intake. It is thought that a high intake of sugar or sugary foods is one of the leading causes in obesity and health related matters. The problem however is that none of these agencies have ever given the public an exact amount of sugar that each person should limit themselves to each day. This has caused confusion among the public and everyone has just been guessing at how much is healthy and how much is too much. The American Heart Association has finally taken the warning a step further however and has now listed guidelines. The agency has also taken on a newly revamped campaign against excessive sugar use. Here are a few of the key points:

• The American Heart Association recommends that people should not consume more than 100 calories per day in sugar. This amount of sugar equals 6 teaspoons.
• 100 calories of sugar is less than what is contained in the average can of soda. This means that if a person is consuming sugar based on these new guidelines that they wouldn't be able to drink one can of soda per day without going over the limit.
• From data taken between the years of 2001 and 2004, studies show that people consume an average of 355 calories of sugar per day.
• The sugar calories that the AMA is telling consumers to avoid does not include natural sugars. This means that it would still be acceptable to get natural sugars from fruits and other organic foods that contain sugar. Foods that have sugar added to them during the manufacturing process are foods that are considered negative.

While there has been no direct link that proves that sugar directly related to heart problems, many experts believe that sugar is related to obesity and being obese is a risk factor for developing heart disease and other related illnesses. The niche in cutting back sugar is not something that has recently come up. Many schools are banning sugary drinks and snacks from their cafeterias and vending machines in hopes that students will consume healthier foods.

Coffee, tea, soda, cake, cookies and other sweet foods are consumed by millions each day. It seems as though the American Heart Association is hoping that by providing exact limitations that they will convince consumers to give up the sugar niche. For more information on what's being done, see http://www.theinternettimemachine.com.