SUGAR One hundred and fifty-six pounds. That's how much added sugar Americans consume each year on a per capita basis, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Imagine it: 31 five-pound bags for each of us. Only about 29 pounds of it comes as traditional sugar, or sucrose, the rest comes from foods.

Where does all the sugar come from? In the U.S. diet, the major source of "added sugar" -- not including naturally occurring sugars, like the fructose in fruit -- is soft drinks. They account for 33% of all added sugars consumed

Where does all the sugar come from? Another high-sugar category? Low-fat products, which may not be as good for your diet as you think. Some contain plenty of sugar to make up for the lack of tasty fat A good example is fat-free or low-fat salad dressing, which can be high in sugar.

How Much Should We Have Sugar should account for no more than 10% of daily calories. In a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet, that's just 200 calories -- or eight heaping teaspoons of table sugar at 25 calories each. This is why most nutrition experts recommend limiting added sugars (excluding fruit and milk) to 40 grams per day or 10 teaspoons (4 grams is in one teaspoon).

HIDDEN SUGAR Anything with sugar, corn syrup, glucose (or, in general, words ending in "-ose") near the top of the list is likely to be high in sugar.

HIDDEN SUGAR Sugar is called many other names when it’s added to food products. Here are some examples: HFCS Honey beet sugar Sucrose Molasses brown sugar Glucose glucose solids buttered syrup Fructose golden sugar cane sugar Lactose golden syrup carob syrup Maltose grape sugar Brown sugar barley malt

SODA POP Food groups that contribute more than 5% of the added sugars to the American diet should be limited 1. Regular soft drinks (33%) 2. Sugars and candy (16%) 3. Cakes, cookies and pies (13%) 4. Fruit ‘drinks’ (not 100% juice) such as fruit punch (10%) 5. Dairy desserts/milk products

SODA POP This year the average person in the United States will consume 54 gallons of Coke™, Pepsi™, Mountain Dew,™ or other soda pop. Manufacturers have made it easy to drink lots of pop by providing 20 and 24 ounce bottles with twist tops.

SIDE EFFECTS OF POP If children drink a lot of pop instead of milk, they may not get the calcium they need. If children don't get enough calcium they may be at higher risk for osteoporosis or "weak bones" in later years. Soda pop drinkers take in about 200 extra calories per day compared to kids who don't drink pop. Childhood obesity is on the rise. The acid wears down the enamel on teeth, causing decay.

HOW MUCH SUGAR? To figure out how much sugar is in a beverage, you need to do a little math. For example, a 12 ounce can of pop , may list 48 grams of total carbohydrates. Take 48 and divide by 4 to get the number of teaspoons of sugar, which is 12. If you drink this, you will consume 12 teaspoons of sugar.