DALLAS — A spoonful of sugar? Americans are swallowing 22 teaspoons of sugar each day, and it’s time to cut way back, the American Heart Association says.
Most of that added sugar comes from soft drinks and candy — a whopping 355 calories and the equivalent of two cans of soda and a chocolate bar.
Most women, the heart group says, should be getting no more than 6 teaspoons a day, or 100 calories, of added sugar — the sweeteners and syrups that are added to foods during processing or preparation or at the table. For most men, the recommended limit is 9 teaspoons, or 150 calories.
The guidelines do not apply to naturally occurring sugars such as those found in fruit, vegetables and dairy products.
Rachel Johnson, the lead author of the statement published online Monday in the journal Circulation, said it was time to give specific advice on how much added sugar Americans should be getting, not just advising moderation.
“Take a good, hard look at your diet,” said Johnson, a professor of nutrition at the University of Vermont in Burlington. “Figure out where the sources of added sugars are, and think about how to cut back on that.”
She said about 8 ounces of fruit-flavored yogurt has about 6 teaspoons of added sugar; 8 ounces of low-fat chocolate milk has about 4 teaspoons; and a cup of frosted whole-grain cereal has about 3 teaspoons.
The biggest culprits for the glut of sugar? Soft drinks, by far, followed by candy, cakes, cookies and pies.
With about 8 teaspoons of added sugar, a regular 12-ounce soft drink will put most women over the recommended daily limit.
Cutting back on sugar probably won’t be easy for many people, said Lona Sandon, a dietitian at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
“I think it’s probably going to be a struggle for quite a few people,” Sandon said.
Johnson concedes that sugar does play an important role in enhancing the taste of food, adding: “If you feel like, ‘I just can’t live with this low amount of sugar in my diet,’ then what you need to do is up your energy needs.”
In other words, she said, get moving. A man in his early 20s who walks more than 3 miles a day could consume about 288 calories, or about 18 teaspoons, of added sugar.
