The increasing epidemic of obesity and cardiovascular disease in America has prompted the American Heart Association (AHA) to issue “prudent” upper limits on the consumption of added sugar. These sweeteners include sugars and syrups added to foods during processing, preparation, or at the table. Today, Americans consume an average of 22.2 teaspoons per day (355 calories) of added sweetener–about one-third coming from soft drinks. The new AHA upper limit for added sugars is 5 teaspoons per day (80 calories) for the average adult woman, and 9 teaspoons per day (144 calories) for the average adult man.
PositiveTip: Cutting 5 teaspoons of sugar per day from your diet should result in an annual weight loss of 8 pounds. Cutting one soda pop per day would result in 14 pounds lost lost per year!