Reducing daily sugar intake to less than 6 teaspoons found to benefit overall health

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), added sugar should not make up more than 10 percent of your daily energy intake. A recent study also found that limiting your sugar intake to only six teaspoons a day and having only one sugary drink a week could significantly improve your overall well-being.

The researchers who conducted the study highlighted the fact that consuming too much added sugar daily increases your risk of developing 45 different health conditions, including depression, diabetes and heart disease.

More details were published in the journal The BMJ.

Drinking too much soda can cause serious health problems

For the study, an international team of researchers reviewed multiple studies to explore the link between sugar consumption and various health outcomes. The review included 73 studies from at least 8,600 articles that covered 83 different health outcomes in adults and children.

Data from the studies revealed that consuming too much sugar can cause health problems like:

• Diabetes
• Gout
• Heart attack
• High blood pressure
• Obesity
• Stroke

The data also showed that a high-sugar diet may increase the risk of seven specific types of cancer, including breast, prostate and pancreatic tumors. (Related: Study links use of artificial sweeteners to increased cancer risk.)

A sugary diet was also linked to other health problems like asthma, tooth decay and premature death.

If you wish to stay healthy, it’s important to reduce your sugar intake because drinking high-sugar beverages like soda is linked to an increase in body weight. At the same time, adding sugar to your food and drinks can increase both liver and muscle fat.

The data also suggested that for each additional serving of sugary drinks per week, there is a four percent increase in the risk of developing gout.

The researchers warned that drinking 250 milliliters (mL) of sugary drinks per day is associated with a 17 percent higher risk of coronary heart disease and a four percent higher risk of death. Evidence also suggest that each 25-gram serving of fructose per day is linked to a 22 percent greater risk of pancreatic cancer.

Associate Professor Liangren Liu of the West China Hospital of Sichuan University said the umbrella review suggests that high dietary sugar consumption, “especially intake of sugars that contain fructose, is harmfully associated with large numbers of health outcomes.”

Liu added that data for the harmful links between dietary sugar consumption and changes in body weight, ectopic fat accumulation, coronary heart disease, obesity (in children) and depression seem to be more reliable than data for other outcomes.

Based on their findings, Liu and colleagues recommend reducing the amount of sugar you add to food and beverages to only six teaspoons a day. They also recommend consuming only one or fewer sugary drinks every week.

In addition, Liu said that while the link between dietary sugar consumption and cancer is limited, it warrants further research.

Tips for improving your eating habits and reducing sugar intake