Sugar is one important ingredient added to food or beverages that makes them tasteful. What is more, sugar is actually needed as a source of energy. Unconsciously, you may often consume too much sugar from various sources. In the end, this can harm your overall health if left unchecked. Hence, knowing the safe limit of daily sugar intake is a must.

In everyday life, sugar is not only consumed as it is (i.e. table sugar, brown sugar, or others), but also in the form of food like candies, cookies and cakes, bread, ice cream, and so on. In fact, some food that claimed to be sugar-free or less in sugar may contain way more sugar than you think.

To prevent future health problems, sugar should be consumed in a safe amount.  Excessive sugar consumption will put you at risk of various health conditions, among others obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, tooth decay, kidney failure, and fatty liver.

Safe limit of daily sugar intake

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends adults and children reduce their daily intake of free sugars to below 5 percent of total calorie intake. dari 5 persen dari total asupan kalori. This amount is believed to provide additional health benefits. Meanwhile, The Ministry of Health, Republic of Indonesia recommends to limit daily sugar intake up to 50 gram or about 5 to 9 teaspoons.

What happens when you consume too much sugar?

It is indeed difficult to calculate whether your daily sugar intake is excessive or not. However, your daily sugar intake may be beyond normal limit if you experience the following.

- Generalized weakness

The body needs sugar as a source of energy, but it doesn’t mean that you should not limit sugar consumption. To ensure a good metabolism, blood sugar level must be kept stable. Excessive sugar consumption may cause sudden increase in blood sugar level, which then manifests as feeling weak.

Furthermore, rapid energy surge following sugar consumption will be quickly followed by a decrease in energy. As a result, the body will require more sugar.  The more drastic the increase in blood sugar level, the more extreme the decrease. In the end, this decrease in blood sugar level may cause the weakness.

In addition, excessive sugar consumption may reduce concentration. The rapid increase and decrease in blood sugar levels may compromise brain function, i.e. ability to focus and drowsiness.

- Weight gain 

Excessive sugar consumption equals to excessive calorie intake, and thus promoting weight gain. Sugar intake will stimulate insulin release, the main hormone responsible for sugar metabolism.

In this process, sugars within the bloodstream will be brought into the body cells, which will then be converted into energy. Prolonged excessive sugar consumption will drive insulin resistance, a condition that put you at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

- Skin disorders 

Sugar consumption causes a rapid increase in insulin. The subsequent cascade of hormones may trigger hormonal imbalance that causes skin problems like acne or rosacea. Rosacea is a skin condition that most often affects the face. It usually marked by swollen red bumps.

One more thing, consuming too much sugar over time may damage the skin protein, i.e. collagen and elastin, which will trigger the appearance of skin wrinkles and the occurrence of premature aging.

- Insomnia

At night, the body metabolism tend to slow down to prepare the body to rest. Excessive sugar intake at night can result in excessive body energy. You may end up with insomnia that make it difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep.

- Tooth decay

Excessive sugar consumption may damage the quality of saliva, which actually has antibacterial properties. As a result, germs will grow easily and cause tooth decay.

Some tips to limit your daily sugar intake

Various health problems related to excessive sugar consumption can lead to serious illnesses. Therefore, it would be better to consume sugar within the safe limit. Here are some tips on how to limit daily consumption of sugar.

• Drink more of plain water rather than sweet ice tea, soft drinks, or other sugar-sweetened beverages.
• Say ‘no’ to sugar-sweetened fruit juices. If you want to drink juice, make sure it is made from fresh fruit and without the addition of sugar or syrup. However, it’s always best to consume whole fruit than juices.
• Opt for fruits as dessert. Avoid high-sugar desserts such as cakes, ice cream, etc.
• Rather than the sugary one, it’s better to eat vegetables, fruits, wheat biscuits, or low-calorie yoghurt for snacks.

It may take a long time until excessive sugar consumption starts causing damage within the body tissues. Nevertheless, prevention is always better than cure.

Knowing the safe limit of daily sugar intake is a good start to a healthy lifestyle. This way, you will know when to stop if you’ve had enough. And of course, don’t forget to always make time for exercise.

[RN/ RH]