Q&A – How Much Sugar Should I Be Eating Every Day?

Someone asked a great question about sugars and I wanted to answer it on the blog because I think it makes a very important point about counting sugars/calories vs. focusing on eating healthy foods.

Question

“I have a question relating to sugar intake. According to the recommended daily allowances for a woman, you should eat no more than 90g sugar per day. But does this include natural sugars from fruit amd milk, or just ‘added’ sugars? I have read in some places that it includes all types of sugar, in others that it only includes fruit sugars but not lactose, and in others that it only includes added sugars and that therefore you can eat as much fruit and dairy sugar as you like. Looking at my own diet, I am pretty health conscious and rarely eat any ‘added’ sugars. However, I do eat quite a lot of fruit and vegetables and dairy. If I add up my average daily intake from fruit and dairy sugar, it is about 90g exactly. However, if I only include fruit sugar and ignore the lactose, it is about 50g. So my question is: Which sugars are counted towards the RDA?” – Lily

Answer

Hi Lily,

Great question! I’m not sure I can answer it in the way that you want me to, however because I don’t “believe” in following the RDA strictly.

First of all, the RDA is just a general guideline for the average person. The problem is that there is no average person – everyone’s body is different and will require different amounts of nutrients for optimal health. So, for you, 50g of sugar a day may be all you need. For me, I might need 120g a day. It all depends.

The question I’m more interested in, personally, is “What sugars should I be eating and what sugars should I be avoiding to reduce my risk of disease?”

The answer would be to eat as much fruits, vegetables and berries as possible and limit or avoid sugars that are processed such as white sugar, white flour (processed starches) and dairy (dairy is not a health food).

In my opinion, if you’re eating healthy whole foods all day (fruits, vegetables, berries, nuts, seeds, legumes, etc.) you won’t need to count calories or sugars because you’ll be eating nutrient-dense foods that are good for you.

On the other hand, if you’re eating lots of white sugar and processed foods and dairy, it doesn’t matter how accurate you are in counting calories or sugars because those foods aren’t healthy for you regardless of how much you consume.

I hope that helps!

You can get more free nutrition tips and info on whole foods in the newsletter at www.AuthenticHealthCoaching.com

Wishing you wellness,
Tom