Sugar isn’t always so sweet: What YOU can do to

prevent pre-diabetes and maintain a healthy

lifestyle
 Healthy diet
What is a "Healthy Diet"?
The Dietary Guidelines describe a healthy diet as one that:

• Emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk

and milk products;
• Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts; and
• Is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added
sugars.
 Healthy diet
For a healthy diet, the average person should consume no more than:

• 2,000-2,500 calories a day

• 271g carbohydrates per day
• 65g total fats per day, including saturated fats (no more than 17g)
• 2,300mg sodium a day (1 tsp)
• 32g added sugars per day (8-13 tsp)
 Bad Fats

These fats increase the risk of heart disease and raise cholesterol and weight
Type of Bad Fat Food Source
Saturated Fat Animal products, eggs, dairy, lard, butter,
coconut and palm oils

Trans Fat Hydrogenated veggie oils, commercial

baked goods (cookies, crackers, cakes)
fried foods, shortening, margarine

Dietary Cholesterol Animal products (meat, poultry, seafood,

eggs, dairy, lard, butter)
 Healthy Fats

Choose these instead to lower your risk of heart disease and cholesterol levels

Type of Healthy Fat Food Source

Monounsaturated Fat Olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil, avocado, nuts
and seeds

Polyunsaturated Fat Veggie oils (safflower, corn, sunflower, soy),

nuts and seeds

Omega-3 Fatty Acids Fatty, coldwater fish (salmon, mackerel,

herring), flaxseeds, walnuts
Recommendations…
• 10% of calories from sugar
• 9-13 teaspoons / day
currently we get 42.5 teaspoons / day
What are we eating!?
• 4.2 grams = 1 tsp of sugar
• This is about the same as 1 cube of sugar.

• 6-9 cubes of sugar is recommended intake

Sugar in Drinks
One cup (250ml) of milk contains about 3 tsp of
sugar
One cup (250ml) of unsweetened fruit juice
contains about 7 tsp of sugar.
Drinks with added sugar have more
calories and don’t have the nutrients of milk and
juice.
 Soda

20 Years Ago Today

85 Calories 250 Calories

6.5 ounces 20 ounces
Coca-Cola
My Experience of Giving Up Added Sugar
For Two Weeks
• I have a sweet tooth. As a 27-year-old who's nowhere close to
overweight, I never thought twice about my sugar-eating
habits.
• A quick search of Google revealed accounts of others who'd
completely given up added sugar. In theory, cravings and
headaches would give way to weight loss, better sleep, better
skin, a higher level of focus and more sensitive taste buds.
• Could giving up sugar really lead to this miraculous new
life? I decided to find out.