How to Reduce Sugar Intake: An Evidence-Based Guide
How much sugar should you eat? What are the warning signs that you're eating too much? Get simple, evidence-based ways to reduce your intake.
- Most guidelines recommend limiting added sugar to less than 10% of your total daily calories (and ideally under 5%).
- Eating too much sugar can trigger physical warning signs like tooth decay, weight gain, high blood sugar and high blood lipids.
- Restructuring your food environment and replacing sugary beverages are effective ways to reduce your sugar intake.
Sugar is now firmly embedded in the global food system. It adds flavour to food, improves its texture, extends shelf life, and is dirt cheap. There's a reason it's so popular and has been added to so many everyday foods. If you are not consciously tracking it, you're probably eating more than you realise!
That said, not all sugars affect your body in the same way. Sugars that occur naturally in whole fruits, vegetables, and plain dairy foods come packaged with fibre, water, protein, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals as well. This is why we think your focus should be on reducing "added sugar", rather than attempting to reduce your total sugar intake.[1][2]
Fibre is a particularly important nutrient because it slows down digestion and absorption of sugar into your bloodstream. So, fortunately, most "high-sugar" natural whole foods (e.g., fruits and some vegetables) also come with a healthy dose of fibre.
By contrast, added sugars are usually introduced during factory processing, cooking or at the dinner table. This type of sugar is rapidly absorbed into your body, offers little nutritional value, and is usually hidden from sight, so you can eat a lot of it without even noticing.
Reducing sugar intake meaningfully does not require complete elimination of it or giving up every sweet food you enjoy. Instead, we think the best way to approach it is to know what the broad guidelines are. Then tailor your intake by understanding your own food environment, tolerance for sugar, and personal preferences. Then choose effective ways to reduce your daily sugar intake.
How Much Sugar Is Too Much? Understanding Daily Limits
Aim for under 10% of calories (about 50 g), ideally under 5%.
However, in addition to counting the traditional added sugars, most health organisations also count natural sugars found in food "extracts" like honey, natural syrups, fruit juices and concentrates. The difference between the sugar in a whole apple and the same amount of sugar found in apple juice is an important distinction. The sugar in the apple juice is "free", whereas the sugar found in the whole apple is mostly trapped inside the cells of the apple (that's surrounded by fibre).
These natural "free" sugars behave (physiologically, in your body) as the added sugars do. So, when we talk about reducing "sugar", we are really talking about reducing "free" sugars rather than just "added" sugars. And we don't count the sugars found in whole, unprocessed food.[3][4]
So it's not necessarily about just how much sugar you are eating. It's really more about the type (and the amount) of sugar! Our main concern is reducing the intake of the "free" sugars, not the non-free or "bound" sugar that's found in whole foods. They are both sugars, but they behave very differently in your body.
What are the free sugar intake recommendations?
General recommendations for free sugar intake are less than 5-10% of your total daily calories. For an adult eating around 2,000 calories a day, that's about 25–50 grams.[5][6][7]
However, these are just broad recommendations. If the rest of your diet is somewhat healthy and balanced, the amount of free sugar you can eat before it begins to measurably harm your health is a bit higher, around 20% of total calories (100 grams). To put this into context, the average American is eating around 85 grams of free sugar a day.[7][8][9]
So, under 5% is ideal for all-round health; under 10% is a good target to maintain good general health; and consistently consuming over 20% will almost certainly harm your health.
Is the sugar in milk bad for you?
Lactose, the sugar in milk, comes with protein, fat and calcium, and it produces a gentler blood sugar response than free sugar does.
Is honey healthier than sugar?
Honey (and other natural sugar extracts) are "free" sugars that trigger nearly identical blood sugar responses (and health issues if overconsumed) to table sugar. Although these sugary extracts from natural foods contain some nutrients, they don't supply enough to offset the negative health impact of the free sugars (if you eat too much of them).
Signs That You Are Eating Too Much Sugar
Not everyone tracks their sugar intake so diligently. Thus, recognising some of the early indicators that you're eating too much sugar means that you can take action. Ideally, you do this before any long-term health problems start.
- Dental health: The bad bacteria in your mouth strip minerals from your teeth, causing cavities, tooth pain and forming plaque. These bacteria feed off the free sugar. If you have good dental hygiene but still have dental issues, it may be a sign you're eating too much free sugar.[5]
- Bodyweight: Gaining weight, particularly around the waistline, is another sign. Too much free sugar can trick your brain into eating more calories than you need. This goes on to increase fat around your midsection and organs, which is really bad for your health.[10]
- Energy levels: Regularly eating too much sugar makes it harder for your body to control your blood sugar levels. This often leaves you feeling tired, sluggish, irritable, with sugar cravings and hunger quite soon after eating.[11]
There are several clinical tests that your doctor can use to confirm whether your sugar levels are too high (or not), and if (or how) it's affecting your health (e.g., HbA1c, fasting glucose, OGTT and a lipid panel). If you suspect that your high sugar intake is negatively affecting your health, or have diabetes or take blood sugar medication, speak to your doctor before changing your diet.
Health Consequences of Eating Too Much Sugar
- Raises blood pressure, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, increasing cardiovascular disease risk.
- Increases visceral fat, insulin resistance, obesity and liver diseases.
- Tooth decay increases pretty much with any intake of sugar. The safe upper limit is probably below 5%.[5]
