American Diet Too Sweet for the Heart's Health

Experts Debate the Value of the American Heart Association's Call to Cut Our Sugar Intake

By LAUREN COX and COURTNEY HUTCHISON
ABC News Medical Unit

Sugar sneaks into so much of our food -- from spaghetti sauce to salad dressing or peanut butter treats -- that it can be near impossible to stop eating added sugars all together. Despite those arrays of pink, blue and yellow packets of sugar substitutes, the average American eats 19 percent more sugar today than in 1970.

Today, for the first time, the American Heart Association (AHA) wants the average American to take a break from this love affair. Under new recommendations the AHA advises women eat no more than about six teaspoons every day in added sugars and men eat no more than 10 teaspoons.

If Americans followed the guidelines, the average person would cut their added sugar consumption by more than 70 percent.

"We know that soft drinks are the number one source of added sugars in the American diet. We really want Americans to start thinking about this," said Dr. Rachel K. Johnson, lead author of the study. Beyond soda, the term "added sugars" includes any non-natural occurring sugar in our food including the copious amounts of extra sugar now commonly found in processed foods such as cereals, muffins, or even sauces for meat.Read more...