Added sugars are sugars that are added during food processing or sugars that are packaged as such. The major sources of added sugar in the American diet include cakes, candies, cookies, pastries, pie, ice cream, regular soft drinks, and fruit, energy, and sports drinks. Sugar also occurs naturally in healthy foods such as dairy products, fruits,100% fruit and vegetable juices, and vegetables.

The Food and Drug Administration has established new rules for the Nutrition Facts label on packaged foods which will require manufacturers to include the amount of added sugar. The new guideline will go into effect starting in January 2020, although some manufacturers have already voluntarily added this information to their food products.

The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend limiting calories from added sugars to less than 10% of total calories per day. That’s 200 calories, or about 12 teaspoons, for a 2,000 calorie diet. To calculate how many teaspoons of sugar a product contains, divide the total grams of added sugar by four. For example, If a product contains 16 grams of sugar, that is equivalent to 4 teaspoons of sugar (16 grams of sugar/4=4 teaspoons of sugar.)