We are so thankful for Mitzi and the work she does in this community! I’m especially thankful we have options and can choose to cut out added sugars in the beverages we drink. After watching this I also read the label on the delicious yogurt I’ve been eating every morning and realized why I like it so much- it has 24 grams of sugar in one serving, which is my daily limit at 7 a.m.!
Experts agree that sugar intake is a major cause of obesity and many chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes. We are not asking you to go wild and cut every gram of sugar out of your diet, but we do want you to know how easy it is to go overboard. Drinking one sports drink, or soda is all it takes to reach the limit or in many cases triple or quadruple your “NO MORE THAN” daily intake!
MEN- No more than 36 grams of sugar per day
WOMEN- No more than 24 grams of sugar per day
Today, stop and think about what you are eating and drinking! Before you take another sip- ask yourself if this is the best choice you can make for yourself today. Look at the label and try to cut your sugar intake in half, by only drinking part of it. Today, we hope you’re inspired to make a small change, like skipping the soda or sweet tea altogether and trying some healthier alternatives!
Join the discussion below by answering the prompt (Let us know if you read your food labels and if anything surprised you. Did you cut back on a beverage or food with added sugar today?)- please let us know you are aware of your risk in the comments below and lets work together to express our thanks and share our local resources), and you’ll earn 5 MORE prize points for each post through the end of the year!
(Please note, your first comment on Go! GC is manually approved to prevent spam. After your comment is approved, you will automatically be awarded bonus Prize Points. Once you have one comment approved, all future comments will be
Try the Free Diabetes Prevention Class & Get a $50 Gift Certificate
For a limited time, try the FREE Diabetes Prevention Class at Garrett Regional Medical Center, and you’ll earn a $50 grocery gift card to Shop N’ Save Express in Oakland! Currently, they are taking registrations for this class, but it is postponed until COVID rates in GC begin to drop.
Call Mitzi at 301-533-4271 to learn more and to register for the FREE classes. (Registration is REQUIRED)
More info about GRMC classes: https://gogarrettcounty.com/grmc-classes/
$50 Gift Card Program Info – While the classes are open to GRMC’s service area, incentives can only be offered to Garrett County residents at this time. Incentives are limited to the first 20 individuals registered and will be given out at the end of the first class. Must be 18+, no limit on the number of individuals per household.
- Applications For Summer Programming Are Posted - April 10, 2024
- Make Nutrition A Focus Every Day - March 29, 2024
- Stretch Your Grocery Budget! - March 26, 2024
I have a very hard time trying to cut sugar from my diet. I have returned to drinking caffeine free coke daily. Finding it harder to change my eating habits than it was quitting smoking.
I used to drink the bottled Starbucks Frappuccinos when I was in college. Since then I’ve switched to hot coffee with unsweetened oat milk. The calories that we drink definitely add up!
I try limiting sugar in my drinks by mainly drinking water. However, I admit that it does get boring at times and I will drink half of a 16.9 bottle of Lipton green tea citrus for dinner to break up the boredom. And I just cannot break the habit of drinking a regular Coke when I eat pizza!
I find it hard to to give up my Pepsi. I have however reduced how many I drink a day and have been drinking water.
Same here.. except I prefer caffeine free coke.
Miss the daily articles. October spoiled me!
Early on in my diabetes journey, I realized that added sugar drinks would send me over my daily limit very quickly, and leave no room for any other sugar/carbs in my diet. I missed carbonation, so I started drinking the flavored seltzer drinks and once in a great while I have a diet soda. I also like hot herbal tea, and enjoy it without any sweetener. If I am going to have sugar/carbs, I would rather have a cookie or even mashed potatoes, instead of a sugared drink. It is a better trade off for me.
I try to drink more water. And I find it easier to limit sugary drinks when I put it into perspective as mentioned above: “Do I want this soda or a cookie or other treat?”
I have reduced by sugar drinks and I like drinking different flavored teas.
Great information! Definitely going to be reading my food labels more.
I often check food labels to get a sense of what they contain. I also prefer natural ingredients as much as possible.
When I started researching this, I couldn’t believe the amount of sugar just in fruit alone. Although it’s natural, it’s still still sugar. But still better than a candy bar!!!! Right ??? ??
I love water and changing up the way it tastes – sometimes i like to add a few squeezes of lemon and other times a pitcher of water with cucumbers soaking in it to give it a fresh taste. Fresh Mint is also great in water to give it some natural flavor
Thank you for sharing this GREAT information, Mitzi! I try to avoid sugar, concentrated juices, corn syrups, and other refined carbohydrates every day, mostly by using a whole-food approach to eating. Reading labels is key to finding sugars disguised as healthier sounding alternatives like “rice syrup” or “concentrated fruit juice.” Drastically reducing my sugar intake actually improved my sense of taste and appreciation for the natural flavors and sweetness of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Great information Mitzi! Sugary drinks are so addictive and can be challenging to give up especially if sugary drinks have been your drink of choice for many years. Some people do best by going cold turkey and others do better by drinking less and slowly weaning themselves off the sugary drinks. Do what works for you! A small change such as cutting back is better than making no change at all.
Now that we have cooler temps. Hot tea with small amount of honey is a nice change. Made sure it’s caffeine free. Good to have till tastebuds can go with out any sweeteners.
Food labels do shock me sometimes!
I gave up my favorite soda for lemon Spindrift. I still relapse when I eat pizza. What are your thoughts on monk fruit as a sweetner for iced tea? Great options for flavored water.
I drink way too many sugary drinks!
I also gave up my sweet tea. It has been a positive. Instead I drink lemon water.