{"id":12447,"date":"2024-05-16T18:35:48","date_gmt":"2024-05-16T10:35:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.medicare-asia.com\/?p=12447"},"modified":"2024-05-16T18:37:46","modified_gmt":"2024-05-16T10:37:46","slug":"why-you-should-watch-you-sugar-intake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.medicare-asia.com\/en\/why-you-should-watch-you-sugar-intake\/","title":{"rendered":"Why you should watch your sugar intake"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"12447\" class=\"elementor elementor-12447\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-a5244aa elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"a5244aa\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-94175d3\" data-id=\"94175d3\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0f069ad elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0f069ad\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.21.0 - 24-04-2024 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p>Consuming too much sugar is associated with heart disease, stroke, obesity, diabetes, high blood cholesterol, cancer and cavities.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cdd5529 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cdd5529\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.21.0 - 24-04-2024 *\/\n.elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px}<\/style><h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-xl\">What is sugar?<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0a626d0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0a626d0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Sugar is essentially a carbohydrate that occurs naturally in a wide range of nutritious foods such as fruit, vegetables, grains and dairy. It is often added during food processing to enhance flavors or act as a preservative. Added sugars are largely empty calories that provide little to no nutrients and should be consumed in moderation.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cbb523c elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cbb523c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-large\">How much sugar should we consume?<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d127a13 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d127a13\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Our sugar consumption should be no more than 10 percent of our daily energy intake. For most adults, that is about 10 teaspoons (50g) of sugar based on a 2000-daily calorie intake. For those who would like to reap additional health benefits such as a decrease in weight, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends a further reduction to 5 teaspoons (25g) of sugar a day.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a82826d elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"a82826d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-large\">Dangers of excessive sugar intake<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3f1bda3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3f1bda3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Blood sugar level spike and give a feel-good &#8216;high&#8217;. After this, a &#8216;sugar crash&#8217; takes over, making us feel tired. Lastly, we crave for sugary foods to feel the &#8216;high&#8217; again.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-358b29c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"358b29c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Furthermore, our body converts any excess sugar that we eat into fat, storing it as a future fuel source. By eating large amounts of sugary foods, we place ourselves at risk of various health problems such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5d69dde elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"5d69dde\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-xl\">Consuming less sugar<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8718e30 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"8718e30\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-large\">Spotting hidden sugar<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cbd5c03 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cbd5c03\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Sugar comes in many forms, with names that do not actually include the word \u201csugar\u201d. They include fructose, corn syrup, sucrose, maltose, and many more.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-845ac75 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"845ac75\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-59015c2\" data-id=\"59015c2\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-84b328c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"84b328c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Just like consuming sugar, having all these added extra calories in our diet can harm our health. Learn to spot different kinds of added sugars on food labels to help cut down on our sugar intake.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9965e06 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"9965e06\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-large\">Sugar myths<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b322f57 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b322f57\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Some added sugars are marketed as healthier options but are actually no different from simple white sugar. While brown sugar does contain additional minerals such as magnesium, potassium and iron, nutritional benefits are miniscule.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d9abfda elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"d9abfda\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-large\">How can we consume less sugar?<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0080721 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"0080721\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-medium\">Read the labels<\/h4>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fd654d5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"fd654d5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>A single can of sugar-sweetened soda can contain as much as 7 teaspoons (35g) of added sugar (140 kcal). Check the Nutrition Information Panel (NIP) to find out the sugar content in our beverages.<\/p><p>Limit your intake of Nutri-Grade C or D drinks. Look out for products with the Healthier Choice Symbol as these are at least 25% lower in sugar than similar products within the same category. Or choose Nutri-Grade A or B drinks that are lower in sugar and saturated fat.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-04d067c elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"04d067c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-medium\">Make water the default drink option<\/h4>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-72c2764 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"72c2764\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Choose water as our beverage of choice. Water is needed for essential bodily functions and the excretion of waste, and forms up to 60% of the human body.<\/p><p>Replace fluid losses and keep our body functioning well by drinking water. This can be made even more enjoyable by infusing water with fresh fruit and herbs for great taste and a dose of vitamins!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e76cb37 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"e76cb37\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-medium\">Ask for \u201cless sugar\u201d or \u201cno sugar\u201d when ordering freshly-prepared beverages or desserts<\/h4>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-94aa473 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"94aa473\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Choose water as our beverage of choice. Water is needed for essential bodily functions and the excretion of waste, and forms up to 60% of the human body.<\/p><p>Replace fluid losses and keep our body functioning well by drinking water. This can be made even more enjoyable by infusing water with fresh fruit and herbs for great taste and a dose of vitamins!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c432184 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"c432184\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-medium\">Portion control<\/h4>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e7b426f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e7b426f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>There are certain sweet drinks, snacks or desserts that we may find irresistible and tend to overindulge. Rather than depriving ourselves completely, we can portion control by:<\/p><ul class=\"dashed\"><li class=\"f5\">Choosing a smaller pack size (e.g. 250ml instead of a 500ml bottle)<\/li><li class=\"f5\">Using a smaller plate &#8211; it tricks us into thinking that we are enjoying more food than what is really on our plate<\/li><li class=\"f5\">Sharing with friends and family<\/li><li class=\"f5\">Enjoying such sweet treats in moderation or making it an occasional treat<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5841b40 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"5841b40\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-medium\">Replace sugar with alternatives\/substitutes in our home cooked meals<\/h4>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1b28703 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1b28703\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>We use sugar in our home-cooked meals; whether it\u2019s baking or stir-frying, sugar is added to our food as a way to enhance the flavours of our dishes.<br \/><br \/>Instead, use fresh, chopped, pureed fruit and vegetables to give our desserts flavour and a fibre boost.<br \/><br \/>We can also try sweeteners like stevia or xylitol that contain fewer to no calories, and won\u2019t cause a spike to our blood glucose levels. Try to gradually adjust and decrease the amount of sweetners we use. Train our palate and learn to enjoy the natural flavours in food.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1e81cbd elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"1e81cbd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-medium\">Watch out for the sugar trap<\/h4>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9eabab4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9eabab4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Watching our sugar intake may not be easy when some sugar traps are hard to detect. Seemingly savoury foods could contain more added sugar than what we expect.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-eda5c04 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"eda5c04\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Reference: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthhub.sg\/programmes\/nutrition-hub\/eat-less\">HealthHub<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Consuming too much sugar is associated with heart disease, stroke, obesity, diabetes, high blood cholesterol, cancer and cavities. What is sugar? Sugar is essentially a carbohydrate that occurs naturally in a wide range of nutritious foods such as fruit, vegetables, grains and dairy. It is often added during food processing to enhance flavors or act [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12465,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98],"class_list":["post-12447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthier-sg","tag-sugar-intake"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/www.medicare-asia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/81.png",1080,1080,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.medicare-asia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/81.png",1080,1080,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.medicare-asia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/81.png",1080,1080,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.medicare-asia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/81-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.medicare-asia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/81-300x300.png",300,300,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.medicare-asia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/81-1024x1024.png",1024,1024,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.medicare-asia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/81.png",1080,1080,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.medicare-asia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/81.png",1080,1080,false],"trp-custom-language-flag":["https:\/\/www.medicare-asia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/81-12x12.png",12,12,true]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.medicare-asia.com\/en\/author\/malik\/"},"rttpg_comment":1,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.medicare-asia.com\/en\/category\/healthier-sg\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Healthier SG<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Consuming too much sugar is associated with heart disease, stroke, obesity, diabetes, high blood cholesterol, cancer and cavities. What is sugar? Sugar is essentially a carbohydrate that occurs naturally in a wide range of nutritious foods such as fruit, vegetables, grains and dairy. It is often added during food processing to enhance flavors or act&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.medicare-asia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.medicare-asia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.medicare-asia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.medicare-asia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.medicare-asia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12447"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.medicare-asia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12470,"href":"https:\/\/www.medicare-asia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12447\/revisions\/12470"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.medicare-asia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.medicare-asia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.medicare-asia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.medicare-asia.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}