Who doesn’t love sweets, especially during the holidays when our homes are filled with cookies and cake? We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but these morsels of goodness can be detrimental if too many are eaten daily. Too much sugar in your diet can negatively affect your health. According to the American Heart Association, “American adults consume an average of 77 grams of sugar per day, more than 3 times the recommended amount.”

The AHA recommends limiting added sugars to no more than 100 calories a day (6 teaspoons) for most women and no more than 150 calories a day (9 teaspoons) for most men.

To put that amount in perspective, that cool gulp of Coke easily takes up your daily sugar intake. There are a whopping 39 grams of sugar in just a single 12-oz. can of Coca-Cola!

Taking control of what you eat means reading food labels and making healthier choices. When looking at the food labels, look at both Total Sugars and Added Sugars. Total sugars occur naturally—for example, the natural sugars found in an apple or a peach. Added sugars, however, are artificial sugars like cane sugar or syrup that are added to food to boost sweetness. You really want to limit products with added sugars; instead, opt for natural sweet foods like berries and apples.

Added sugar leads to vascular inflammation, heart disease, and obesity. We have a sugar problem in the United States: We eat more added sugar than is recommended daily. According to a study in the JAMA Internal Medicine, an augmented sugar habit can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and death from heart disease, even if you are not overweight. 

Healthy habits are formed when we opt for healthier choices. Instead of a sugary soda, you can flavor your favorite sparkling water with sliced oranges, cucumbers, berries, or even a sprig of mint to add a flavorful dimension to your beverage.

When looking for fruit juice, make sure there is no added sugars. Look at the ingredient list. If sugar is among the first three ingredients, then it is not a low sugar choice. Diluting 100% juice with water is a good way to reduce the amount of sugar consumed.

Reducing your intake of added sugar, reading food labels, and making healthier food and beverage choices are just a few ways to promote wellness, especially if you want to avoid disease and improve your health.

If you have been diagnosed with Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD), reach out to a specialist like Dr. David Nabi at NewportVascular.com to come up with a comprehensive plan customized to your needs. Diet, along with medication and minimally invasive procedures, are among the many tools available to successfully treat PAD and other vascular ailments. Take these important first steps to take control of PAD before it takes control of you.