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Eating too many sweets can lead to a variety of health problems. To curb your consumption, start by getting smarter about the sources of sugar in your diet.
Craving sweets from time to time is natural. Too much sugar in your diet, however, increases the risk of weight gain, elevated triglycerides, poor nutrition and tooth decay.
The World Health Organization recommends that both adults and children keep their intake of added sugars to less than 10 percent of daily calories (about 12 teaspoons of sugar). To get a handle on your sugar intake, it's important to become aware of the sources of sugar in your diet.
Start by reading food labels. Sugar goes by many aliases, including corn syrup, molasses, honey, high-fructose corn syrup, malt sugar and dextrose. Understand that natural sugar occurs in foods such as fruit, milk and plain yogurt. Added sugar is added to foods or beverages, either in processing (as in soda and flavored yogurt) or in preparation (as when you add sugar to coffee).
Recommendations about sugar consumption don't include foods with naturally occurring sugars because those foods usually contain other beneficial nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, fiber and protein.
Other helpful tips for cutting sugar consumption in your diet include:
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