Do you have a sugar habit? Kicking it – or at least keeping it under control – could be the key to better health, researchers say.
A team led by researchers from Sichuan University in China examined 73 research reviews from more than 8,600 articles related to health outcomes in adults and children.
They found that increased sugar consumption carries “significant harmful associations” with asthma, depression, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, stroke, multiple cancers and other negative health outcomes.
The researchers determined that limiting daily consumption of added sugars to less than 25 grams (about 6 teaspoons) and drinking no more than one sugar-sweetened beverage a week can “reduce the adverse effect of sugars on health.”
They add that “to change sugar consumption patterns, especially for children and adolescents, a combination of widespread public health education and policies worldwide is urgently needed.”
The study was published online in the British Medical Journal.
