Sugar mania is killing America

Americans are swallowing 22 teaspoons of sugar each day, according to the American Heart Association.

Most of that added sugar comes from soft drinks and candy — a whopping 355 calories and the equivalent of guzzling two cans of soda and eating a chocolate bar.

Most women should be getting a limit of 6 teaspoons a day, or 100 calories, of added sugar (manufactured sugar as opposed to naturally occurring sugar in fruits and vegetables).

For most men, the recommended limit is 9 teaspoons, or 150 calories, the heart group says.

The guidelines do not apply to naturally occurring sugars like those found in fruit, vegetables or dairy products.

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An 8 ounces of fruit-flavored yogurt has about 6 teaspoons of added sugar; 8 ounces of low-fat chocolate milk has about 4 teaspoons; a cup of frosted whole grain cereal has about 3 teaspoons.

The biggest culprits for the glut of sugar? Soft drinks, 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.

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Calculating one’s sugar intake can be tricky as the government doesn’t require labels to differentiate added sugars from naturally occurring sugars,

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To check for added sugar, look for a variety of ingredients including sugar, corn syrup, fructose, dextrose, molasses or evaporated cane juice on the label.

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32543288/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/