Eating more than 6 teaspoons of sugar a day linked to cancer, stroke, diabetes, early death

Experts recommend reducing consumption of added (“free”) sugars to around six teaspoons a day and limiting sugar-sweetened drinks to less than one serving a week after a comprehensive evidence review published by The BMJ.

They found significant harmful associations between sugar consumption and 45 outcomes, including asthma, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, depression, some cancers and death.

It’s widely known that excessive sugar intake can have negative effects on health and this has prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) and others to suggest reducing consumption of free or added sugars to less than 10% of total daily energy intake.

Reference:

Huang, Y. (2023). Dietary sugar consumption and health: umbrella review. The BMJ. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2022-071609