Natural Sugar - bad for you?

Question
Dear Laurie,

I am concerned that I may be eating too much sugar - I never eat foods with added sugars like cakes or ice cream, but I do eat a LOT of fruit, vegatbles and low fat dairy products, which all contain a lot of 'natural' suagar. The other day I added up the approximate amount of sugar I take in each day from these sources, and it is about 130 grams per day. This ia way over the 90 grams per day that is reccommended for women. Is eating this much natural sugar harmful to me, and could it be causing me to store extra weight?

Thanks! :)

Answer
Hi Nicole,

I believe there is nothing for you to be concerned about! I'm not sure where you heard 90 grams was recommended.
If you eat 1800 calories a day, at least half of those calories should be from carbohydrates, and sugar counts within these 200+ carbohydrate grams. (More calorie intake = even more carbohydrate intake).

The problem with "sugar" is that people eat too much added sugar. Sugar from cakes and ice cream, as you mentioned, contributes to excess calories which can lead to being overweight and subsequent health problems.

I have never met an obese person who said their problem is they eat too much fruit!
Fruit sugar is limited for people who have diabetes, because they can only metabolize a certain amount.

Otherwise, if you are at a healthy weight and have no existing medical conditions, I would not be concerned with eating too much of fruits, vegetables, or low-fat dairy :)

Laurie

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