Glucose, a form of sugar, powers every action in your body. Your brain needs it to function—in fact, it uses up half of the sugar energy your body produces. Without enough sugar, your brain gets lethargic and slows down. But scientists are finding out that too much sugar in your diet also causes brain trouble in the form of reduced cognitive function. Eat too many candy bars and you won’t think as well. Too much sugar makes you forgetful and less able to learn things. It can also make you prone to anxiety and depression. The key is to eat sugar in moderation. The typical American diet is packed with sugar, much of it hidden (it’s in everything from ketchup to salad dressing to pasta sauce). Nutrition experts agree that Americans need to cut back on sugar consumption.
Sugars are simple carbohydrates that the body uses as a source of energy. During digestion, all carbohydrates break down into sugar, or blood glucose. Some sugars occur naturally, such as in dairy products (as lactose) and fruits (as fructose). Other sugars are added for taste. Most foods containing added sugars provide calories but little in the way of essential nutrients, such as fiber, vitamins, and minerals. It’s better to eat fruit, which in addition to fructose has healthy substances such as vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium, folic acid, antioxidants, phytochemicals, and fiber, just to name a few. Most fruits have no fat, and all are cholesterol free.
There is no current recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for sugar, but experts recommend that about 55 to 60 percent of total calories in your diet should come from carbohydrates, with less than 10 percent coming from simple sugars like lactose and fructose. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 6 teaspoons of sugar per day for women and 9 teaspoons for men.