Uses:
– Added sugars in the United States include sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup.
– Other added sugar ingredients are beet and cane sugars, malt syrup, maple syrup, and honey.
– Common foods with added sugars are sweetened beverages, desserts, and sweet snacks.
– Added sugars in the U.S. contribute to 20% of daily calorie consumption.
– 74% of food and beverage products in a 2012 study contained added sugar.
Sweetened beverages:
– Contain a syrup mixture of glucose and fructose.
– Liquid carbohydrates have higher bioavailability than solid sugars.
– Excessive fruit juice intake is linked to chronic metabolic diseases.
– Consumption of sweetened beverages may increase the risk of certain diseases.
Guidelines:
– WHO recommends a maximum of 10% of diet from free sugars.
– WHO revised food pyramid emphasizes health-directed diet groups.
– WHO suggests reducing free sugar intake to less than 10% of total energy.
– Added sugar was added to the revised nutrition facts label in 2016.
– EFSA states uncertainties exist for chronic disease risks below 10% sugar intake.
European Food Safety Authority:
– EFSA links sugar consumption to dental caries and chronic metabolic diseases.
– Sugar-sweetened beverages are associated with obesity, fatty liver disease, and type 2 diabetes.
– Chronic disease risks are uncertain below 10% total energy sugar intake.
American Heart Association:
– AHA recommends daily sugar intake of 36g for men and 25g for women.
– Overconsumption of sugars may increase disease risks.
See also:
– Diet and obesity.
– Sugar substitute.
– Sugary drink tax.
Added sugars or free sugars are sugar carbohydrates (caloric sweeteners) added to food and beverages at some point before their consumption. These include added carbohydrates (monosaccharides and disaccharides), and more broadly, sugars naturally present in honey, syrup, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates. They can take multiple chemical forms, including sucrose (table sugar), glucose (dextrose), and fructose.
Medical consensus holds that added sugars contribute little nutritional value to food, leading to a colloquial description as "empty calories". Overconsumption of sugar is correlated with excessive calorie intake and increased risk of weight gain and various diseases.