The average American eats 36 teaspoons of sugar per day!  Over 160 pounds per year.  Are you one of them?

As our girth increases in the States we need to start taking a good hard look at what we’re eating.  I’ve been playing around with this concept lately, the math geek in me comes out and I start trying to find visual ways to explain why we need to cut back on the bad stuff and substitute those fruits, veggies, lean proteins and whole grains.

So what does 36 teaspoons or 7 ounces look like?  Here you go … do you want to ingest that every single day?  Well, chances are, you already are …

What your daily sugar intake actually looks like

So I know some of you are saying, yes, but there is naturally occurring sugar in fruits and vegetables and so on.  Yup, this is true, but it’s in far smaller numbers than that processed stuff we eat.  So to give you an idea …

How many teaspoons in various fruit

• Apple is 3 to 5 teaspoons
• Orange is 2 teaspoons
• 1 cup of grapes is 3 teaspoons

How many teaspoons in various junk food

• Twinkies, 18 teaspoons (assuming you eat the whole package)
• Vanilla Ice Cream, 4.5 teaspoons for 1/2 cup (do you ever eat 1/2 cup?)
• Grande Coffee Frappuccino from Starbucks, 4 teaspoons

You get the idea.  Do your teeth hurt yet?

So here’s what I’d suggest.  Check out the Weekly Challenge on True Food Movement.com to see how you can cut back on sugar.

Quick Tips To Cut Down

1. Don’t eat anything with sugar as one of the first 3 ingredients
2. Don’t eat anything with multiple sources of sugar in the ingredient list
3. Shop the perimeter of the store to avoid the processed stuff
4. Avoid vending machines like the plague
5. Bring healthy snacks from home instead of raiding the vending machine or office candy dish

What do you think?  I’d love to see your comments.  By the way Sugar Stacks gives great examples of how much sugar is in various snack foods.  Check ‘em out.

Lisa

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