Now locate the sugar listing on the soda's nutrition label—40 grams. Four grams of sugar equals one teaspoon. Do the math. That innocent can of pop contains 10 teaspoons of sugar and 160 empty calories.
Even if you don’t drink regular soda, the typical American now eats the equivalent of about 31 teaspoons (124 grams) of added sugar every day. That sugar alone adds up almost 500 extra calories—about 25% of the average person's caloric intake. WOW!
Less is More
So how much should you limit your sugar intake? Several health organizations suggest that added sugar should be limited to no more than 10 percent of your total calories. This does not include naturally occurring sugars found in fruits (fructose) and dairy products (lactose). The chart below lists the maximum recommended daily sugar intake based on various calorie levels.
Maximum Sugar Intake
| Daily Calorie Intake | Grams | Teaspoons |
| 1200 | 30 | 7.5 |
| 1500 | 37 | 9 |
| 1800 | 45 | 11 |
| 2100 | 52 | 13 |
| 2400 | 60 | 15 |
| 2700 | 67 | 17 |
Deciphering Labels
It can be confusing to try to find out how much added sugar a food contains. The sugar listing on a Nutrition Facts label lumps all sugars together, including naturally-occurring milk and fruit sugars, which can be deceiving. This explains why, according to the label, one cup of milk has 11 grams of sugar even though it doesn't contain any sugar “added” to it.
To determine how much sugar has been added to a food product, follow these two tips:
- Read the ingredients list. Learn to identify terms that mean added sugars, including sugar, white sugar, brown sugar, confectioner’s sugar, corn syrup, dextrin, honey, invert sugar, maple syrup, raw sugar, beet sugar, cane sugar, corn sweeteners, evaporated cane juice, high fructose corn syrup, malt, molasses, and turbinado sugar.
- Refer to the chart below for approximate amounts of hidden sugar in foods.
| Food | Serving Size | Added Sugar |
| Cakes and Cookies | ||
| Angel food cake | 4 oz piece | 7 tsp |
| Banana Cake | 4 oz piece | 2 tsp |
| Brownie, no icing | 1 oz piece | 4 tsp |
| Cheesecake | 4 oz piece | 2 tsp |
| Chocolate cake, iced | 4 oz piece | 10 tsp |
| Chocolate chip cookie | 1 cookie | 2 tsp |
| Coffee cake | 4 oz piece | 5 tsp |
| Cupcake, iced | 4 oz piece | 6 tsp |
| Fig | 1 cookie | 5 tsp |
| Gingersnaps | 1 cookie | 3 tsp |
| Glazed doughnut | 1 doughnut | 6 tsp |
| Oatmeal cookie | 1 cookie | 2 tsp |
| Candies | ||
| Chocolate candy bar | 1 bar | 7 tsp |
| Chocolate mint | 1 piece | 2 tsp |
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