The American Heart Association ( AHA) recommends no more than 6 teaspoon of added sugar for women and 9 teaspoons of added sugar per day for men.

In general it is recommended for kids to have no more than 3-6 teaspoon of added sugar per day.

For most people some added sugar is okay, unfortunately we are having 19.5 teaspoon of sugar per day.

Natural Sugars

There are natural sugars that are in fruits such as fructose, and in dairy in the form of lactose, that are better for us and don’t count as added sugars.

When it comes to looking at sugars, try to pick an item that has 0-7 grams of sugar per serving.  An easy calculation is that 1 tsp. of sugar is equal to 4 grams of sugar, so if your yogurt states 7 grams of sugar that is 1.75 tsp. of sugar. This will help in not exceeding the recommended sugar intake per day.

As we are shifting to decrease our sugar intake, more and more research is showing that we are consuming too much artificial sweeteners which have their own problems.

The best way to cut down on sugar is to use in moderation, and if using sugars, try to use natural forms to sweeten foods.

Top 7 Natural Sweeteners

1 Raw honey

2 Stevia

3 Dates

4 Coconut Sugar

5 Fruits puree- Banana, Apple Sauce, Natural Fruit Jam

6 Monk Fruit Extract

7 Natural Maple Syrup

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