When Nutrition Facts labels list “grams” of sugar in a food, what does that mean?
In the case of sugar, a measured teaspoon weighs about 4 grams. So if a label says a food contains 12 grams of sugar, that’s equal to about three teaspoons. The amount listed on food labels includes both sugar that occurs naturally in foods like milk and fruit, as well as added refined sugars. Refined sugars include not just table sugar, but also honey, molasses and corn syrup, among others. A healthy diet will always include some sugar, as it naturally occurs in many nutritious foods. But eating too many foods with added sugars supplies calories without nutrients, making weight control difficult. Current guidelines from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) suggest that added sugars can supply up to 25 percent of our daily calories. But many nutrition experts contest this figure and recommend that no more than 10 percent of daily calories come from refined sugars. In contrast, the higher figure cited by IOM would allow for up to 125 grams of added sugar a day on a 2000 calorie diet – equiva
In the case of sugar, a measured teaspoon weighs about 4 grams. So if a label says a food contains 12 grams of sugar, that’s equal to about three teaspoons. The amount listed on food labels includes both sugar that occurs naturally in foods like milk and fruit, as well as added refined sugars. Refined sugars include not just table sugar, but also honey, molasses and corn syrup, among others. A healthy diet will always include some sugar, as it naturally occurs in many nutritious foods. But eating too many foods with added sugars supplies calories without nutrients, making weight control difficult. Current guidelines from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) suggest that added sugars can supply up to 25 percent of our daily calories. But many nutrition experts contest this figure and recommend that no more than 10 percent of daily calories come from refined sugars. In contrast, the higher figure cited by IOM would allow for up to 125 grams of added sugar a day on a 2000 calorie diet – equiva
