The consumption of sugars It is a practice that, although in athletes who perform long endurance training and require a very high amount of carbohydrates per day (>600 grams/day) can be beneficial, in the majority of the population it is not.
When consuming this type of sugar, we are not referring to those found in fruits, for example, but to sugary drinks, ultra-processed products, etc.
Added sugars are a controversial and hotly debated topic. The consumption of added sugars has been linked to an increased risk of a variety of chronic diseasessuch as obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, as well as cognitive decline and even some types of cancer.
However, the data supporting these claims has been constantly challenged. Often, These claims are based in research trials providing added sugars in much higher dose of those normally found in human consumption.
A large body of literature has been generated, particularly over the last decade, exploring the potential relationships between added sugars and various health-related conditions.
What does the EFSA tell us
Yesterday, the AESAN, on February 28, echoed the scientific report published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on the tolerable upper intake level of sugars in the diet.
Today, the diet we follow contains sugars from different sources that may be presentas is the case of fruits or be freeas is the case with honey.
Within the «free sugars», we find the so-called «added sugars», which are those who are refined sugars that are used in food preparation and as table sugar.
The “total sugars» are all sugars present in the diet, including those naturally present in fruits, vegetables, and milk.
Scientific evidence has not made it possible to establish a tolerable upper intake of sugars in the diet. In other words, with the information we have today, we cannot set a maximum daily level of total sugar intake.
Despite this, EFSA has been able to show relationship between the consumption of sugary drinks, juices and nectars and a series of health problems, such as dental caries and several chronic metabolic diseases, such as obesity, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and type 2 diabetes, as well as others related to pregnancy.
The report concludes that intake of added and free sugars should be as low as possible as part of a nutritionally adequate dietwhich supports the previous recommendations of authorities such as this Agency to limit the intake of added and free sugars.
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